Wings of Friendship
by DemonBrightSpirit
Summary: Rainbow Dash is seriously injured while racing in a flight competition. For once, it isn't her own fault and, for once, it doesn't look like the strong pegasus will be able to get back up on her own. It falls to her five closest friends to get Rainbow Dash back on her hooves and back into the sky where she belongs.
1. At the Races

Wings of Friendship

* * *

Chapter 01  
At the Races

* * *

In the clouds above Equestria a cheering crowd of dozens of pegasi filled cloud-carved stands as several fliers gathered at a starting line. Behind the eager racers was a gigantic scoreboard with their portraits next to a score. At the very top of the scoreboard was a picture of a pony with a rainbow colored mane. This exceptional pegasus appeared to have a score 135.

Back on the starting line, Rainbow Dash was digging her hooves into the clouds with her wings outstretched beside her. She was already set to take off at a moment's notice. _You can do this Rainbow Dash!_ she psyched herself up as she sent sideways glances at her competition. Most of them were just mulling about. _These chumps don't stand a chance!_

Rainbow's air of confidence was dampened as she spotted one other pony prematurely in the start position: Lightning Dust. A glance over her shoulder showed that her Wonderbolts Academy rival securely held the number two position. Looking back to the turquoise pegasus, she managed to lock eyes with her. Lightning Dust smirked as she took a deep breath and exhaled it forcibly through her nose as if to say, "Bring it on!"

Not one to be shown up, Rainbow Dash gave her wings a couple of powerful flaps. It wasn't enough to lift the prismatic-maned mare from her position, but it surely gave the message of, "Oh! It's on!"

If possible, Lightning Dust's smirk widened even further as she leaned back ever so slightly. Then, in a sudden burst, she took off! Rainbow Dash coughed in the dust left by the other pegasus ponies as they took off as well. "Hey! Wait!" she uselessly shouted as she realized that she had been so caught up in her back-and-forth with Lightning Dust that she had missed the start of the race! By the time she had gotten up into the air, most of the other fliers were already nothing but dots in the distance.

"Oh my goodness," Fluttershy worried a bit as she watched Rainbow Dash take off last. Although from her spot in the middle of the roaring crowd, nopony, not even Fluttershy, could hear the soft-spoken words. The mild-mannered pony briefly wondered just why Rainbow Dash would give everypony else a head start like that. It just didn't seem like the competitive pegasus she knew.

By the time it occurred to Fluttershy that she was supposed to be cheering for her friend, Rainbow Dash and the other competitors were already zooming away into the sky. They were all just tiny dots against a bright, blue background and yet the crowd was still roaring. As it turned out, several pegasi were flying above their seats using binoculars to get a good view of the race. Fluttershy tried to hear what was going on, but couldn't make out any single voice over the raucous crowd.

Finally, a voice rang out loud and clear. "The lead racers have just reached the first checkpoint!" the announcer called out. "It's Lightning Dust in the lead! Cloudchaser passes the checkpoint just behind her with Thunderlane rounding out the top three!"

Fluttershy didn't pay the announcer much mind as he rambled on about the other dozen or so pegasus ponies in the race. She was busy trying to remember what Rainbow had explained to her about how the race worked. There would be seven checkpoints evenly spaced apart. No, wait, six checkpoints with the finish line as the seventh. That still left Rainbow Dash a lot of room to make up for her delayed start. Fluttershy was only stirred from her thoughts when the announcer mentioned her friend's name.

"…and trailing behind the pack Rainbow Dash brings up the rear! Could it be that this spunky contender's winning streak is finally at its end!?"

"No! It's not!" Fluttershy defended her friend as if the announcer could actually hear her. The yellow mare immediately proceeded to cheer for Rainbow Dash, even if her shouting voice was quieter than some ponies' speaking voices. "Go Rainbow Dash! I know you can do it!"

"Lightning Dust holds a commanding lead at the second checkpoint! She really is leaving her competition in the dust! Next through the checkpoint is Thunderlane with Cloudchaser just a feather behind him! Wow! The top three are really ahead of the pack! It looks like it will be a few seconds before any of the rest reach checkpoint two! Wait! What's this?! Rainbow Dash has finally caught up to the pack and it looks like… Yes! She is starting to pass some of the other ponies! The pegasus from Ponyville is really something else! At the second checkpoint she is already at the middle of the pack even after her delayed start!"

With the announcer's help, Fluttershy was able to keep track of Rainbow Dash as she zoomed past the other little specs in the sky. At the third checkpoint the rainbow pony had firmly secured fourth place. By the fourth, she had caught up to Thunderlane and Cloudchaser. Halfway to the fifth checkpoint, Rainbow Dash was already in second place and putting sky between her and the two ponies she had just passed. Unfortunately, while Dash was halfway to the fifth checkpoint, Lightning Dust was already well on her way to the sixth and final checkpoint before the finish line. Being faster than Lightning Dust wasn't going to be enough—Rainbow Dash would have to be nearly twice as fast as her competition to win. Of course, Fluttershy didn't have a single doubt that Rainbow Dash could do it. She was just ferociously gnawing at her hooves with a panicked expression on her face because…because she thought she left the stove on at home! Yes. That was the reason.

In no time Lightning Dust was finally coming into clear view as she made her final descent towards the finish line. Rainbow Dash was right on her tail. Dash kept trying to get around the determined flier, but at every opportunity Lightning Dust swung into her path to prevent her from passing. After a few seconds, Rainbow finally managed to psyche out her rival and slip beside her. The two pegasi flew neck and neck for all of half a second before they zoomed through the finish line. They skidded to a halt in the clouds, kicking up an obfuscating mist into the air.

"Amazing!" the announcer exclaimed with genuine excitement as the mist started to settle. It revealed Rainbow Dash striking a triumphant pose while Lightning Dust stood looking a bit anxious. "It's way too close to call! Definitely a photo finish mares and gentlecolts! Wait… I'm getting word from the officials now and, yes! We have a winner! Rainbow Dash defeated Lightning Dust by a hair!"

Rainbow bolted into the air as she gave a triumphant shout, unaware of Fluttershy doing something very similar. In a much, much less jubilant fashion, Lightning Dust hung her head in defeat until an official shouted at the two to get clear of the finish line. Lightning dragged herself over to the nearby rec room reserved for contestants while Rainbow Dash shot over to Fluttershy in an instant. The ecstatic mare couldn't help but to relish in her victory.

"Did you see me up there!? That was so awesome!..."

While Rainbow strung sentence after sentence together all about her tour de force, Fluttershy scooted over enough for her friend to sit next to her. As soon as Rainbow Dash started to settle down and her adrenaline crashed, she plopped down in the newfound space to give her burning wings a rest.

"You really were amazing up there," Fluttershy fed Dash's ego. "I never doubted you."

"Thanks Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash appreciated as she gave her wings a stretch. She would never admit it, but she was glad there would be a nice, long break before the next and final event. It took everything she had to catch up to Lightning Dust and her wings weren't about to let her forget it anytime soon. "I'm really glad you came to cheer me on," she genuinely thanked her friend after giving her wings a lazy flap and finally folding them at her sides.

"It's just too bad that everypony else couldn't make it," Fluttershy lamented.

Rainbow donned a self-satisfying grin, "Yeah! They just missed one hay of a show!"

"That's it for the long-distance flight competition!" the announcer boomed, distracting the two mares from their conversation. "There will be an intermission while we set up for today's final event: the obstacle course!"

"Oh! Look!" Fluttershy urged as she pointed a hoof towards the scoreboard. Several pegasi in uniforms were rearranging the scorecards. The top few positions had already been changed out. Rainbow Dash still held the top spot, though her score had increased to 150. Underneath Rainbow's portrait was Lightning Dust's. Her score was 138 and the only one anywhere close to Rainbow Dash. Cloudchaser only had 121 while Thunderlane had 117.

While Rainbow wore a triumphant smirk, Fluttershy wasn't so sure her friend understood the implications. "You are sure to win, Rainbow," the kind pegasus insisted. "Even if Lightning Dust comes in first in the next event, you will still win! You would only need to come in seventh place to keep your score higher than her's."

The competitive pony seemed to consider the news a moment before dismissing it with a wave of her hoof. "Of course I'm going to win! I'm gonna come in first place and blow everypony away!" she boasted. As her thoughts drifted to her prize, Rainbow couldn't help but to squirm and giggle like a star-struck filly. "I'm gonna get to spend a whole week training with The Wonderbolts!"

"I thought the grand prize was just a pair of all-access passes to the Cloudsdale Coliseum for a week?" Fluttershy pondered, earning a glare from Rainbow Dash. The yellow mare's ears folded down as she offered a sheepish smile and leaned away from the seemingly angry mare. "I-I could be m-mistaken."

Rainbow Dash sighed her ire away. It was impossible to stay mad at the shy mare. "No, you're right, Fluttershy," she relented as her hopes and dreams settled back down into reality. "But that week is gonna be the week that The Wonderbolts will be training there for their show. And the passes are even good on the day of the show! I can't wait!"

"I'm so happy for you," Fluttershy enthused.

Rainbow was about to reply, but her stomach beat her mouth to the punch as it let out an immutable growl. A tinge of pink crossed the mare's cheeks as she ran a hoof through her mane. "Hey, why don't we get a bite to eat?" Rainbow Dash suggested. "All that flying really works up an appetite!"

"Is it really okay?" Fluttershy answered the question with another question.

Pointing a hoof to the sky, Rainbow Dash nodded, "Look. They're gonna be setting this stuff up for a while. We have plenty of time to grab a bite."

With a smile and a nod, Fluttershy let her friend lead the way. "I'm a bit hungry myself."

As the two pegasi hunted down a food vendor, Lightning Dust just sat in front of the scoreboard looking positively forlorn. She had long since come to the same conclusion Fluttershy did, except the realization filled her with despair instead of hope. Even if she beat out the famous Element of Loyalty and came in first place, she would still lose overall if Rainbow Dash finished any better than eighth. And that just wasn't going to happen. So far Rainbow's worst performance was in the slalom and she still came in third!

Lightning Dust grit her teeth as she felt a seeping anger stir inside her. Why couldn't that stupid, rainbow pony just stay out of her life!? The Wonderbolts loved her enthusiasm and skill until Rainbow Dash somehow turned Spitfire against her. If it weren't for Rainbow Dash, she would have finished in the top spot at the academy! If it weren't for Rainbow Dash, she would still be in The Wonderbolts' good graces! Hay! If it weren't for Rainbow Dash, she even might have been an official Wonderbolts trainee by now! Even now…even now her last hope of ever redeeming herself in Spitfire's eyes had been stolen away. And, of course, it was Rainbow Dash that shattered that dream, too.

"I _hate_ her," Lightning Dust growled as she lowered her head.

* * *

Author's notes - Congratulations! You made it all the way to the end! You deserve a cookie!

All jesting aside, this is my first attempt at this sort of thing and I just hope that I didn't royally mess anything up. I don't have an editor or anything of that sort so I worry that there might be a few grammatical mistakes and things like that.

Anyway, thanks for reading. I'm already working on the next chapter. Hopefully I can post it soon and I certainly hope you found my story entertaining enough to come back when I do post it.


	2. Terminal Velocity

Wings of Friendship

* * *

Chapter 02  
Terminal Velocity

* * *

The sun's intensity had long since begun to fade by the time several pegasi had gathered to do warm up exercises. The obstacle course was finally in place after a few delays and the event's organizers were more than a little eager to see the final event resolve before day's end. Although all the competitors were there, it was hard for most of them to put their hearts into it. After all, Rainbow Dash had pretty much already won.

"Hey Rainbow, how about sharing some of those blue ribbons?" Thunderlane joked. "Looks to me like you've got enough for everypony."

"You can keep the ribbons," Cloudchaser spoke up before Rainbow Dash had a chance to. "Who are you taking with you?" she asked with an endearing smile. "I can think of somepony who would _love _a chance to meet The Wonderbolts!"

It was a simple proposition, but one Rainbow hadn't realized. The prize was _two_ all-access passes. Since they were good for a week, she could bring each of her friends on a different day. That would still leave two days, and that's only if every one of her friends actually wanted to go. Oh! She could bring Scootaloo! That little filly would love it for sure. She could bring the squirt on the day of the show and _totally_ blow her mind!

With a smirk Rainbow Dash casually rolled her eyes. "Well…" she deliberately started off with a long, dramatic pause, "I'm probably gonna bring my Ponyville friends, but there might be a day or two where nopony can make it."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Rainbow Dash regretted them. Several of the pegasus ponies around her all started beseeching her at the same time. Even though there were only a handful of them, they somehow managed to encase Rainbow in an unruly mob. Thankfully, the announcer called for the racers to get ready, freeing her from her self-inflicted torment. Rainbow had to give her head a good shake to make everything stop spinning before she approached the starting line.

This time Rainbow Dash made sure to pay attention to the starter instead of her competition. Due to her diligence, she got off to a quick lead. It was a good thing, too. The first part of the course involved darting through rings of clouds. Each one was barely wide enough for two ponies to pass through at once and the agility need to go from ring to ring made passing nearly impossible. Rainbow held the lead up until the very end. As she turned to nosedive to the final ring below her, Lightning Dust dropped past her with her patented rear-hoof first technique. Not only did she beat Rainbow through the last ring, but a quick pump of her wings put her back on course much faster than Rainbow could recover from her nose dive.

As soon as she reoriented herself, Rainbow Dash found that Lightning Dust had already put a lot of sky between them. Cursing under her breath, Dash scrambled to make up for it as they headed into the next obstacle. The same giant fans that were used in the training camp were arranged to form a long tunnel in the sky. They were all pointing towards the center of the tunnel blowing from different directions. Instead of blowing hard enough to send a pegasus flying, they were blowing simply to form disorienting wind shears. Entering the tunnel it quickly became apparent that she wasn't going to be able gain much on Lightning Dust. It took all her concentration just to keep from spiraling out of the wind tunnel.

The moment she was clear of the wind shears, Rainbow Dash took off at full speed. There was a good gap of open air between the end of the wind tunnel and the next obstacle. Rainbow was determined to seize the opportunity to exploit her superior speed to catch up to and pass her competition. It wasn't enough. Just as she approached Lightning Dust's tail they hit the next part of the course. Lightning passed through a narrow cavern in the side of a mountain.

Rainbow Dash couldn't help but to let out a frustrated grunt as she trailed behind her rival. This part was so stupid! The winding caves weren't wide enough for anypony to pass anypony else. One slow pegasus would surely end up clogging up the whole thing. Not to mention that the sudden, sharp turns in any direction were giving Lightning Dust the advantage. Rainbow would never admit it to anypony, but agility is the one thing Lightning Dust was better than her at.

By the time the prismatic-maned pegasus shot straight up out of the mountain and clear of the claustrophobic caves, she could just barely see Lightning Dust off in the distance. This part of the course was more her style. She raced along a ridge of mountaintops as several ponies launched clouds at her. The cloud cannons were inaccurate, but one hit would surely cause anypony to spin out. Since she was busy dodging the spinning puffballs it was hard to gain on Lightning. But gain she did, little by little.

_WHY!?_ Lightning Dust bitterly thought as she looked over her shoulder to find Rainbow Dash slowly gaining on her. _Why couldn't she have wiped out on one of the obstacles earlier!?_

Setting her gaze back in front of her, Lightning found the last obstacle of the course: a large conglomeration of storm clouds. They were lightning-free for the safety of the fliers, of course. They were only there to distract everypony with wind, rain, and reduced visibility. It was as if this part of the race was specifically designed for the pegasus trailing behind her. Rainbow Dash was a weatherpony for crying out loud. She was sure to steal the lead from her and wallow in her glory, AGAIN!

_If only Rainbow Dash had screwed up earlier in the race_, Lightning Dust lamented as her face was suddenly pelted with rain and wind, _then I just might have actually been able to win! Why does she have to so…so awesome!?_ Letting out an audible growl, Lightning chanced a glance over her shoulder to find Rainbow Dash closing in fast. The only way Lightning Dust could possibly win now is if by some miracle Rainbow fell out of the sky. _There has to be a way! I have to make her lose!_

Rainbow Dash was grinning like crazy as she flew in right behind Lightning Dust. They had already played this game before, and she had won. The only difference this time was a whole lot of sky before the finish line. There was no way she was going to lose. Swooping from side to side, she tried to get around her rival. Lightning Dust seemed to halfheartedly try to block before seemingly pulling the wrong way on purpose. She even pulled her back leg in to give Rainbow more room. Feeling the bite of disappointment at her rival's apparent surrender, she slowly started her pass. Just then, Lightning suddenly moved back nearly crashing into her! The flash of a turquoise hoof was the last thing Rainbow Dash saw before everything went black.

Watching the race was a much more enjoyable experience for Fluttershy now that she had a pair of binoculars. She was glad Rainbow Dash had convinced her to pick them up during the intermission. _I have to remember to thank her after the race,_ she made a mental note.

With the aid of the binoculars, the yellow mare had been able to watch every part of the race. Well, almost every part. Try as she might, Fluttershy just couldn't make them see through the mountain or the storm clouds. Just seconds after losing sight of her friend in the storm clouds, Fluttershy felt an ominous worry start to well up inside her. She was stirred from her reverie by the announcer mentioning Rainbow.

"What's this? It seems as though Rainbow Dash is a bit disoriented! She only just entered the storm clouds and already she has shot out of the bottom for some reason. Wh-what's this?! She isn't flying! Rainbow Dash is falling!"

The few Wonderbolts tasked with presiding over the competition took off at full speed as the crowd collectively gasped. Fluttershy was pretty sure she wasn't one of the ponies that were gasping. After all, she would require the ability to actually breathe in order to gasp. The yellow pegasus just sat slack-jawed a moment before she had the presence of mind to grab her binoculars and get a sense of the situation herself. Flying up above the crowd, she quickly spotted her friend. The cyan pony's legs and wings were unmoving as she gently tumbled in the air. _She's in a free-fall!_ Fluttershy realized with no small sense of horror.

Abandoning the binoculars, Fluttershy flew in a panic towards her falling friend. In spite of her adrenaline-fueled efforts, there was no hope of her reaching Rainbow Dash before she impacted the modest lake she was fast-approaching. Even The Wonderbolts were struggling to get there in time. Sure enough, just as the three uniformed pegasi breached the lake's shores Rainbow Dash smashed into the water with a sickening sound. In an instant The Wonderbolts were circling the spot where Rainbow had impacted.

Fluttershy landed on the lake's shores a few agonizing seconds later. She was suddenly having a hard time breathing again as her chest constricted painfully. _Oh! Please, please, PLEASE be okay!_ she silently prayed as she watched The Wonderbolts gather at a spot on the lake as they seemed to fish something out of the water.

"Hey! Make way!" a gruff voice forced Fluttershy to tear her attention away from the lake.

The yellow mare jumped clear as a pegasus-drawn cart landed where she had been standing. The cart was white with a big, red cross on the side: an ambulance. A second ambulance followed seconds later, landing near the first. Their presence only amplified Fluttershy's worries—if that was even possible. She quickly trotted around the first ambulance to spy the three uniformed pegasi working together to carefully bring an unmoving, blue mass over to the awaiting paramedic ponies. A multicolored mane confirmed Fluttershy's fears. It was Rainbow Dash.

The Wonderbolts gingerly brought Rainbow over to the paramedics. As they rolled the soaked mare onto the stretcher, Fluttershy saw it—a splash of red, pink, and white against a blue background. The awful, horrible sight caused a deathly pallor to spread over Fluttershy's face as she physically recoiled from it. Then, her eyes rolled back in her head as everything quickly faded to black.

* * *

Author's Notes - Well... I'm not aware of any Lightning/Rainbow shippers, but if such a thing exists I should probably go ahead and apologize for this chapter. Maybe go and hide out for a while.

Now, this chapter was uploaded so very quickly entirely due to the fact that I already had most of it written when I posted the first chapter. I'm afraid the rest of the chapters won't be so...expedient. I still hope to have it ready fairly soon. See you then, I hope!


	3. Tizzy

Wings of Friendship

* * *

Chapter 03  
Tizzy

* * *

Murmuring voices that didn't seem to actually form words invaded the black nothingness. Then, light. At first it was just a dim grey, but it quickly brightened showing a couple of formless blobs. Now the voices began to from not only words, but sentences. "Hey, she's coming to," a feminine voice echoed.

"Take it easy," a second, masculine voice sounded.

A few blinks and they came into focus. A mare and a stallion both wearing white caps each decorated with a red cross. It was about that time when she realized she was lying flat on her back. She gave her head a good shake to try to clear the fog before trying to roll over to get on her hooves. That's when a thought so horrible crossed her mind that she stumbled and fell back onto her side. She let out a meek little yelp and didn't try to get back up as memories started flooding back.

Rainbow Dash! She had fallen right out of the sky!

"Easy now," the paramedic mare offered in a sweet, soothing voice as she tried to gently nudge Fluttershy to her hooves. "You fainted, but everything is all right now."

Now that she was standing, Fluttershy took the opportunity to look around in a panic. There was the lake. That spot on the shore where-where… Fluttershy had to look away and her eyes quickly fell on the ambulance. She looked around for the other one, but it was nowhere to be seen. "…ash. W-where?" the shaking mare muttered incoherently.

"Are you feeling all right?" the stallion gently asked. "Do you need us to take you to a hospital?"

"Where is Rainbow Dash!?" Fluttershy blurted out in a voice louder than most ponies had ever heard her use.

The paramedics glanced at one another before the mare spoke up, "They thought that the Ponyville hospital was closer, so they rushed her there." As soon as she got the words out, both pegasi had to cover their faces with a wing to shield them from a sudden burst of wind. As they recovered, they found the mare with the butterfly cutie mark to be gone. "Those competitors really are something," she muttered, completely unaware of the fact that Fluttershy was anything but a competitor.

Fluttershy's adrenaline rush rapidly gave way as her wings quickly exhausted themselves. When her wings could no longer move her towards Ponyville fast enough, she hit the ground running—literally. Her legs carried her the rest of the way into Ponyville. Preoccupied with dreaded thoughts about her friend, she didn't even notice the stares she got as she raced through town. She didn't stop when she reached the hospital. Bursting through the doors, she kept up her momentum until she crashed right into the nurse's station.

"Can I…help you?" the nurse behind the counter asked with a bit of concern.

Fluttershy nodded as she struggled to catch her breath. After a few seconds of breathing nearly as frantically as her worries, she found her voice, "Rain… *huff* …Rainbow Dash." Giving another second or two of heavy breathing before swallowing, she continued, "Is-is she here? Is she okay?"

The nurse frowned as she nodded. "Rainbow Dash was checked in just a little while ago."

"Is she okay?" Fluttershy repeated the question.

The nurse sighed at the pleading look the pink-maned pegasus was giving her. "All I can say is that she is in very serious condition," she muttered. "I'm not allowed to say anything more. I'm not even supposed to have said that much."

"P-please," the yellow mare begged, not even noticing her panic-driven courage to push the matter. "I need to know."

Fearing she would end up caving in if she had to keep looking at the pathetic pony in front of her, she pointed a hoof at the door. "Visiting hours have long since passed. If you don't have a medical emergency, please see yourself out," she ordered in the most callous voice she could muster.

The next thing Fluttershy knew, she was sitting just outside the hospital doors crying her eyes out. It wasn't the fact that the nurse wouldn't tell her much that bothered her. Quite the contrary. She let Fluttershy know that Rainbow Dash was still alive and that knowledge brought some semblance of comfort to the ailing pony. With the worry of her friend having died in the accident abated, the yellow mare was torn back to the injury she witness and all the horrible consequences it entailed.

_How am I supposed to comfort her? What can I possibly do for her?_ Fluttershy mourned. _She probably won't even want to see me._

As she pondered what to do a thought hit her like a series of heavy items dropped from the back of a moving truck high above her head. Her friends! They were always the ones she turned to in her time of need! But, more importantly, they had no idea what was going on!

Drying her eyes and stumbling on shaky legs, she set off for Twilight Sparkle's library. The whole gang would be there. They had planned a surprise party for Rainbow Dash to celebrate her victory or to cheer her up if she lost. Neither of those things had happened. Instead, something truly horrible had occurred and none of them were any the wiser. They were probably getting worried by now, too. It was already starting to get dark.

Finally, the library was starting to come into view. The sight of it actually caused Fluttershy to slow down. Her own trepidation was causing a hitch in her step. The bearer of bad news was not a mantle she fancied wearing. But wear it she must, and with a wavering resolve she managed to make it to the library's door. Taking a minute to psyche herself up and swallow her fears, Fluttershy managed to summon just enough courage to open the door and step inside.

"SURPRISE!"

Even though she was already prepared for the onslaught, Fluttershy still recoiled and cowered at the sudden burst of light and noise.

"Heeey, where's Dashie?" Pinkie Pie accused in a serious tone, only to replace it with her normal, jovial voice in the next breath. "You did know that this party was for her, right? You were supposed to bring her here, silly!"

Twilight Sparkle was the first to realize the panicked expression on Fluttershy's face was far more serious than her being startled by the welcome. "Fluttershy…is everything okay?" she gently prodded as she and the other ponies plus Spike stepped away from their hiding spots.

Fluttershy shook her head. "N-no."

The tension in the room had gone from slight worry to near-panic with the utterance of a single word. "W-what's wrong, sugar cube?" Applejack asked with all the seriousness and empathy she could summon.

The yellow mare tried to respond, but all that came out was a squeaking sound too quiet to be heard by most.

It was Rarity that finally asked the question on everypony's lips. "Fluttershy," she started with a bit of apprehension, "does this have something to do with Rainbow Dash?"

Fluttershy cowered a bit as she nodded. Even though she thought that she was doing a pretty good job hiding it, everypony saw tears falling behind the pink veil. "S-sh-she…" the shy pony stammered out. It wasn't just the fact that she didn't want to cause her friends pain with the unfortunate news that was making this so hard for her to do. She didn't want to believe it herself. If she said it—those few words—then it would have to be real. More than anything, Fluttershy did not want that.

Twilight put a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder as she did her best to look the timid pegasus in the eyes. "Come on Fluttershy. You are our friend. We—all of us—are here for you," the alicorn gently coaxed as she sat next to Fluttershy and draped a leg over her shy friend's withers and used the other leg to motion towards their friends. "You can tell us anything."

Closing her eyes tight and drawing a deep breath, Fluttershy worked up the courage to speak. "Th-there was an accident at the competition! Dash just…just—she fell right out of the sky!" Even though she was shouting, it was still about the volume most ponies spoke with. "T-th-they t-took her to the-the here. Ponyville hospital!" she muddled as her burst of courage faded.

"Ohmygosh! Is she okay!?" Pinkie shouted, causing Fluttershy to flinch and earning her a couple of glares.

Fluttershy relaxed a bit as she shook her head before swiping at her tears.

"Well, what're we all standin' 'round here for? Let's go!" Applejack insisted as she headed for the door.

Twilight did her best to get Fluttershy back on her feet as Pinkie and Rarity started after Applejack. "Spike, can I count on you to take care of things here?" she asked as she nudged Fluttershy to the door.

"S-sure thing, Twilight," Spike assured. "Just…um, I mean, I hope everything turns out okay."

"Me, too Spike," Twilight Sparkle sighed as she used her magic to pull the door closed behind her. "Me, too…"

* * *

Author's Notes - So, at this point I bet you're wondering why I didn't just cut to all the ponies gathering at the hospital? Well, for one, then this chapter wouldn't exist. And...well I wanted to build up the suspense! I'm mean like that.

Anyway, the next chapter will finally reveal just how Rainbow Dash is doing. Hopefully it will be longer than this chapter, but I can't make any promises.

Any and all feedback is more than welcome, especially if I've made some mistakes somewhere.


	4. Prognosis

Author's notes - Author's notes before the story starts?! Blasphemy! Wait...I'm the one putting this...nevermind.

This chapter will likely make a few squirm. I tried to tone it down to keep the rating at K+, but if anyone has _any_ objections just say something and I'll make it right.

Try and make it to the end, this is where the actual plot starts! Trust me, I'm the...well, author.

* * *

Wings of Friendship

* * *

Chapter 04  
Prognosis

* * *

At the sound of the front door opening, the nurse looked up to find a bevy of ponies entering. Spotting the yellow mare with the pink mane, she knew exactly what they were here for even before they reached her station. Just minutes ago she was barely able to follow regulations and keep mum about Rainbow Dash's condition, now the pathetic-looking pegasus brought a princess with her!

_Above my pay grade_, she quickly decided as the group approached the counter. "I'll go see if her doctor is free to speak with you," she asserted before any of them had a chance to speak. _He can cite regulations to them or tell them what's going on,_ she thought as she left the counter. _Either way, I wash my hooves of the situation entirely_.

"Wow," Twilight Sparkle marveled as she glanced to her friends. "Do we really come here for Rainbow Dash _that_ often?"

"Ah'm still worried," a wide-eyed Applejack fretted as she trotted in place. "What if-what if they come with…bad news?"

All eyes quickly descended upon Fluttershy as the worry in the group seemed to overflow. "Oh, um…" the demure mare stammered as she felt everypony ask the silent question. "A-all the n-nurse said to me was th-that Rainbow Dash was in…" Fluttershy had to take a small break to breathe in and out as she gathered her thoughts and courage. "Very serious condition."

"Well then, that _must_ mean that she is still with us, at least," Rarity surmised. She had tried to sound confident and reassuring, but the edge in her tone showed that she couldn't even convince herself.

"Uh-umm," Fluttershy spoke up again. "It's not… I mean…" Unlike many times before when she spoke so softly that everypony ignored her, this time she had the full and undivided attention of her friends. It was intimidating. "I s-saw it," she said so lowly that even though her friends were right next to her and listening, they could barely make out the words. "When they pulled Rainbow out of the water…"

Before she could continue, the nurse interrupted. "All yours," she asserted as she pointed a hoof at the group of mares.

"You must be Rainbow Dash's friends," a doctor greeted. Normally he would ask them to go somewhere private to discuss such sensitive matters, but seeing how the waiting room was all but completely abandoned, it would do just fine. "I'm told you want to know more about her condition."

"Yes!" Twilight eagerly replied. "Please," she added as an afterthought.

The doctor let out a chuckle as he gave Twilight a small bow. "Far be it for me to deny a direct request from a princess."

Twilight Sparkle had to suppress a groan as well as the desire to roll her eyes. She was really starting to get annoyed at how everypony was treating her differently. At least her friends hadn't changed and most of the citizens of Ponyville were settling back into their normal relationships with her.

"Please doctor, can you tell us how Rainbow Dash is doing?" Twilight urged him to continue.

Again glancing about the waiting room to ensure that no stray ears would hear, he frowned. "Rainbow Dash is in surgery as we speak. She is bleeding internally and externally. She is fighting for her life as we speak."

"Is she…going to make it?" Twilight Sparkle tentatively asked.

The doctor sighed as he struggled to prevent a frown. "I can't say for sure. Quite frankly it's nothing short of a miracle she survived the fall at all," he rambled just a bit. Finding several teary eyes staring back at him, he cleared his throat, "In my experience, Rainbow Dash is quite the fighter. I believe she will be able to pull through."

"I see," Twilight replied, trying and utterly failing to hide the worry in her voice. "Thank you. You should get back to doing whatever you can to help her."

"Right, well I—"

"Wait!" a tiny voice interrupted as Fluttershy made her way to the front of the group. "I-I mean…her injuries…"

"Well…" he hesitated before sitting down. "Right now our main concern is to stop the bleeding and to repair her collapsed lung. Provided they don't kill her, your friend should make a complete recovery from those wounds. She also has several broken bones. Again, in time they should mend. More dangerous is her concussion. It is very serious and it may manifest in all sorts of temporary or permanent problems. Memory, cognition, hearing, vision…there is really no telling what all could go wrong, and by the same token it might not cause her any ailments at all."

"Her wing!" Fluttershy demanded in a shout loud enough to startle the idle nurse.

The doctor frowned as he looked away from the group. "If Rainbow Dash is very lucky, none of those injuries will create a lingering problem for her. We have some of the best surgeons in Equestria seeing to that. Her right wing, however…" he trailed off as he struggled to find a way to gently break the news. "When she hit the water, that wing must have absorbed the brunt of the force, possibly sparing her life. It—her wing—was severed on impact."

While Fluttershy just hung her head, the other four looked completely aghast.

"There isn't anything we can do," he somberly continued. "I'm sorry to say it, but Rainbow Dash will never fly again."

"That _can't_ be true!" Pinkie Pie refuted. "Dash can't just not fly! Her whole life is flying!"

"Look here, doc," Applejack fumed. "That answer just ain't gonna cut it and Ah ain't gonna just sit here and take it!"

"Surely there must be something you can do to make this right," Rarity pleaded. "Why, Twilight Sparkle here is one of the most marvelous unicorns Equestria has ever seen! Her magic is legendary. There simply _must_ be something you can do."

Despite the praise, Twilight was hanging her head in defeat. "This is just so horrible."

Seeing the yellow one openly weeping while the pink one tried to console her, the doctor turned again to the forlorn alicorn. "While it is…rare for this sort of injury to happen, it is not unheard of. Rainbow Dash will need her family and her friends to help her adjust to the life of an earth pony." Not receiving any sort of reply, he continued," If she has a cloud home, you will need to find a way to accommodate her down here on solid ground." He emphasized the point by stamping a hoof on the floor. "It's never easy for a pegasus to adjust to such a drastic change. All of you will need to be there for her and help her through this."

Twilight looked to her ailing friends before setting her stare on the doctor. "Are you absolutely certain that there is nothing that can be done to save Rainbow's wing?"

"Princess, we don't even _have_ her wing," he bluntly stated. "You will have to find the courage to accept this and find a way to move forward."

"I see," Twilight muttered as her gaze fell to her hooves. "Just…take good care of her."

"We will do our best," the doctor assured as he got up and turned away before casting one last glance at the girls. "Be strong, for her."

For what must have been several minutes the only sounds were those of Fluttershy's sobs. All five ponies were simply overwhelmed with the news and they were all struggling to even let the news sink in. Rainbow Dash being unable to fly was simply unfathomable. The cyan pegasus arguably spent more time flying than she did standing, walking, and running combined!

With the exception of Fluttershy still sobbing in the same spot she'd been in and Pinkie Pie doing her best to comfort her, the rest of the group had found their way to the waiting room's furniture. After many more seconds of relative silence, Rarity cleared her throat of the emotion constricting it, "I suppose Rainbow Dash can stay with me at the boutique. She can use Sweetie Belle's room."

"Don't be ridiculous," Twilight chided. "You can't put Sweetie Belle out like that. Rainbow Dash can have the spare bed at the library."

"Yer both being ridiculous," Applejack snapped. "We got plenty of room over at Sweet Apple Acres. Dash can have her own room and she won't be puttin' anypony out."

An audible growl drew attention to a certain pink pony as she stepped away from Fluttershy. "What in Equestria are you girls doing?!" she snapped as she leapt in the air.

Twilight shrunk a bit at the outburst. "We're…trying to figure out what we are going to do to help Rainbow," she stated the obvious, not quelling Pinkie's indignation at all.

"You're all acting like Dashie will never fly again!" Pinkie scolded. "So what if the doctor says it's impossible. What does he know?! We've saved all of Equestria what, two times? Three? Five?! Well…a lot! There has to be something we can do!"

"Pinkie," Applejack muttered sympathetically.

"No, she's right!" Twilight Sparkle interrupted before Applejack could say anything else. "What are we doing? We're giving up and we haven't even tried yet!" she asserted as she got on her hooves, feeling a renewed energy course through her. "I'll send Princess Celestia a letter first thing in the morning to see if she knows of any magic, or techniques, or…whatever that might help. You girls should brainstorm and see if you can come up with any ideas to get Rainbow's wing back."

For the first time since Fluttershy had stumbled into the library, Twilight found herself smiling. The smile seemed contagious as even Fluttershy stifled her sobs. It was hope. Hope that maybe, just maybe everything would be all right after all.

* * *

Author's notes - Well now, it can't be _that_ hard to find a way to get Rainbow Dash's wing back, right? *cowers in fear of a very, very angry future Twilight appearing*

As stated at the top of the story, if anyone has any objections just let me know and I'll try to tone it down or bump up the rating. I'd really like to keep the K+ rating though. This and the next chapter will likely be the worst in terms of pushing what I'm allowed to do with this rating.

UPDATE: Fixed a few minor errors.


	5. Investigation

Wings of Friendship

* * *

Chapter 05  
Investigation

* * *

As Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity started to cheer up in the hospital's waiting room, a trio of ponies burst in. A yellow pegasus mare with a fiery mane wearing nothing more than a pair of goggles that were currently up on her forehead led the two other ponies. The trailing duo were a pair of stallions, one a grey unicorn and the other a brown earth pony. The earth pony had a black mane that was swept back, wore a pair of corrective lenses, and sported saddlebags and a bowtie. The unicorn had a neatly combed brown mane and wore a blue, pinstripe suit complete with a tie.

They looked quite official…well, the stallions did. But the mare didn't need to. Anypony could easily recognize her. She was the one and only captain of The Wonderbolts: Spitfire. While the two ponies flanking her managed to maintain a stoic expression, Spitfire just couldn't shake her frown.

The trio walked up to the nurse's station and the unicorn retrieved an official-looking scroll from the earth pony's satchel and unraveled it onto the counter. "We are investigating the…unfortunate accident that injured Rainbow Dash," Spitfire requested in a professional manner. "If at all possible we would like to speak with her or her doctor at their earliest convenience."

The nursed examined the document a moment before nodding. "Her doctor may be able to see you," she conceded as she began to trot off. "If you will follow me, please."

A few dizzying hallways later and the group entered a small room with a massive pane of glass for a wall. The nurse walked over to a unicorn in a white coat who was staring intently through the glass. He must've been the physician responsible for Rainbow Dash.

Curious, the trio looked through the enormous pane of glass to see what was so fascinating while the nurse explained their presence. The unicorn and earth pony both turned away in disgust almost immediately as they saw a pony on a table surrounded by several unicorns. The window's view was perfect poised to view the pony's insides as the surgeons performed their delicate work.

Spitfire didn't look away. Instead she focused on the fur and what she could see of the tail. The bloody mess in front of her could only be Rainbow Dash. The spunky pegasus that could famously perform the sonic rainboom…and here she was, missing a wing and her insides spilled out on a table.

Spitfire nearly growled at the sight. It was ultimately her fault that Rainbow Dash was in this situation. After all, the event wherein she was injured was endorsed by The Wonderbolts. She was the captain. It was her responsibility.

Spitfire couldn't remember the last time she had loathed herself so much. Although she had always kept it to herself, the captain of The Wonderbolts had always possessed high hopes for Rainbow Dash. Ever since the first time she witnessed the sonic rainboom…well, at least she had been there and heard all about it after she woke up.

_Now she can't even fly,_ Spitfire bitterly thought. It was almost a fate worse than death. At least for a pegasus—especially one that so loved to fly. Spitfire couldn't even imagine the horror of living out the rest of her days tethered to the ground.

The Wonderbolt snapped out of her reverie at the sound of her name. "W-what?" she stammered as she finally tore her eyes away from the operating table.

"I said, it's a pleasure to meet you, Captain Spitfire," the doctor repeated himself. He had remind himself not to be cross with her. Professional or not, many ponies in this place tended to easily lose themselves in thought, grief, and worry.

"Right," Spitfire acknowledged as she regained her poise. "You know, we've never had a single serious injury on our courses before," she lamented as she turned back to Rainbow Dash. "And then this happens. To one of Princess Celestia's Elements of Harmony and, quite frankly, one of the best fliers I've ever seen."

The expert flier had to fight back a wave of nausea as she looked back to the doctor. "I honestly believed our courses to be safe for experienced fliers, but obviously that isn't the case. I need to know what happened up there so we can make sure that the course is safe for competitors in the future…and so I can look Princess Cesestia in the eye and tell her exactly how I got one of her Elements of Harmony maimed…or worse"

The doctor winced at the thought of having to report this fiasco to the ruler of all of Equestria. Spitfire's situation was _not_ one he wished to ever experience. "I see," he muttered as he prayed that the surgeons wouldn't make any mistakes. "Well…"

Before the doctor could finish, Spitfire continued, "Please tell me she's going to pull through."

With a weary sigh, the doctor followed Spitfire's gaze to the operating table. "She's strong, and her vitals are better now than when she was brought in. If I had to bet, I'd bet on her and not The Reaper."

"Good," she curtly replied. "When do you think she will be able to tell us what happened up there?"

The doctor shook his head. "She won't be awake until morning, and it's unlikely that she will be cleared to talk to anypony until at the afternoon," he gave his best guess. "And that's assuming she isn't confused or missing parts of her memory from the concussion."

Seeing a look of frustration on Spitfire's face, he continued, "If you want my opinion, I think I have a pretty good idea of what happened."

Spitfire raised a skeptical eyebrow, "Enlighten me."

"All of Rainbow Dash's injuries are consistent with a serious fall—all except one," he explained. "She has a curved laceration on the side of her head far too regular to be caused by a fall." Already Spitfire's expression had morphed from skepticism to enthrallment. "I've seen the wound before. Too many times, in fact. It's usually seen in assaults, not on some pegasus race track."

Spitfire let her impatience get the better of her. "What caused it?!"

"A hoof," he bluntly replied. "She was kicked in the head. In my expert opinion, the laceration indicated a blow that certainly would have been violent enough to render her unconscious."

_KICKED!?_ Spitfire's mind raged as her vision turned a shade of red. Had she not been in a hospital, something would have been broken. Violently.

_Somepony KICKED her?! In the middle of a race?! For what!? To win!? _ Spitfire's thoughts raced.

"Doctor," the unicorn accompanying Spitfire spoke up. "Have you informed anypony about your…suspicions?"

The doctor shook his head. "Patient info is…supposed to be confidential, and there is no actual proof of wrongdoing."

"We would appreciate it if you continued to withhold that little tidbit," the unicorn insisted.

"Of course," the doctor replied.

"This isn't an accident investigation anymore," Spitfire ground out now that she had calmed down a bit. "It's a criminal investigation. Assault. No! Attempted murder!"

The earth pony cleared his throat as he started to speak, "Um…ma'am, you don't get make that decis—" His words were stopped mid-sentence by a nightmarish glare from Spirfire. "R-right. Criminal investigation."

Spitfire didn't even bother to say anything to the doctor as she sent Rainbow Dash one last glance before storming out. Oh-so-quickly this had gone from a tragic accident to a heartless crime, and Spitfire wasn't about to let it go unpunished. She didn't even care that her career was essentially clear of the guillotine now that they knew that the fall wasn't caused by the course itself. The Wonderbolt just couldn't imagine any competitor doing _that_ to a fellow pegasus.

As Spitfire reentered the waiting room, she saw the same five ponies milling about that were there when she had walked in. It was then that she recognized them. They were the same ponies that accompanied Rainbow Dash to Cloudsdale. No small feat for earth ponies and unicorns. Though she was still a little bitter at the purple-maned unicorn for nearly killing her and making look a bit foolish.

"Excuse me," Spitfire spoke up as her entourage caught up. "You ladies are Rainbow Dash's friends, right?"

"Yes ma'am, we are," the purple unicorn asserted…only she wasn't a unicorn anymore.

The two ponies accompanying Spitfire bowed as the Wonderbolt gave a crisp salute. "Princess," Spitfire started again with a more respectful tone, "we are working hard to try to piece together exactly what happened that led to…well, this."

"Please, just call me Twilight Sparkle," the alicorn dismissed with a wave of her hoof, urging the ponies to stop prostrating themselves. "Do you know how this happened?"

"We are getting a clearer picture, Pri…erm, Twilight Sparkle," Spitfire stumbled as she fought against so many conflicting emotions. Complicating her position was the fact that she didn't want to give too much away. After all, the doctor did have a point when he said that there wasn't any actual proof that there was wrongdoing. "I was hoping maybe you or one of these ponies happened to be at the event."

All eyes fell on Fluttershy. She didn't move to the front of the group, but the rest backed away, letting Spitfire approach her. "Oh dear," the yellow mare mumbled as she cowered a bit. "Um…yes, I-I was there."

"Good, because I wasn't," Spitfire unabashedly admitted to what she perceived as a mistake. "I need you to try and remember the names of the fliers that were up there with Rainbow Dash when…when she started falling."

Fluttershy hesitated. It was hard finding the memories of something so…insignificant. Most of the day's memories were washed away by the horrors and worries of the accident. But the request did seem to make sense. Anypony up there with Rainbow Dash might have seen something. "Um, Lightning Dust was up there with her when-when she…" Fluttershy trailed off.

The unicorn behind Spitfire retrieved a quill and pad from the earth pony's saddlebags before writing the name down.

"Good, can you remember anypony else?" Spitfire urged.

Fluttershy shook her head. "There wasn't anypony else," she refuted. "Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust were the only ones there. Everypony else was way behind."

Spitfire had to work hard to fight off the snarl that so desperately wanted to appear. "You're telling me that Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust were alone in the storm clouds at the time of the accident?"

Fluttershy slowly nodded. "I-I hope that helps," she meekly replied.

"More than you know," Spitfire claimed as she headed for the door without another word. The second she was clear of the building she spread her wings and disappeared in a flash.

"She seemed rather upset," Rarity noted as Spitfire's entourage chased after her.

"She must feel guilty," Fluttershy guessed.

Twilight let out a sigh as she reorganized her thoughts. "I'm sure she will figure everything out. We, on the other hoof, need to prepare. And the first thing everypony needs is a good night's sleep," she asserted. "Like I said before, I'll stay here in case anything happens. You girls go home and try to get some rest."

"And _I_ will relieve you first thing in the morning," Rarity insisted.

"Ah'll get started on gettin' a room ready for Dash—just in case," Applejack added.

"Right," Twilight asserted with a nod. "Tomorrow morning we will meet at the library to discuss strategy."

"We'll get Rainbow's wing back or die trying!" Pinkie loudly proclaimed.

The rest of the girls looked skeptically at one another before Applejack replied. "Uh, well, we're certainly gonna try our darndest."

Pinkie nodded enthusiastically as she, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy headed towards the door. "Even if it kills us!" Pinkie swore.

"I'll let you girls know first thing if anything happens!" Twilight called after them.


	6. Game Plan

Wings of Friendship

* * *

Chapter 06  
Game Plan

* * *

After a very short investigation, several pegasi corroborated Fluttershy's claim that the only pegasus anywhere near Rainbow Dash at the time of the accident was Lightning Dust. Spitfire spent much of the night cutting through legal red tape so that the pegasus in question could be bought in. Finally, after going back and getting a sworn statement from Rainbow Dash's doctor, she was poised to finally confront Lightning Dust.

First thing in the morning, Spitfire met up with two pegasus authorities outside of Lightning's modest cloud home. Silently nodding a greeting to each other, the trio marched up to the front entrance and burst in.

Once inside, the authorities spread out to quickly find and detain the pegasus in question. Spitfire hesitated almost immediately as she noticed shredded scraps of laminated paper in the entryway. It was the prize for winning the competition. Dismissing it, the Wonderbolt moved to catch up to the pegasi in blue.

Spitfire found them in the bedroom. The sight before her cooled her anger. Lightning Dust was pathetically looking up at her and the two policeponies from her cloud bed. Her face didn't hold any fear or surprise, only sorrow and regret. Lightning's two-tone hair hung limply across her face, doing little to hide the tear stains matted into her fur.

Tears sprang anew as Lightning Dust's bleary, red eyes met with Spitfire's. "I-I've done something horrible…"

* * *

Back in Ponyville, Twilight had already changed shifts with Rarity and returned to her library. The first thing she did once she had returned to her home was to rally Spike and send Princess Celestia a letter. When that was taken care of, the purple alicorn focused on what she could do with her own magic and knowledge. What better place to start than her books?

In no time Twilight wore a confident smile as she found herself in her element. "Spike, grab me that book on anomalous equine anatomy," she insisted as she scanned the bookshelves for anything useful. Grabbing another tome with her magic she added it to a growing pile of books.

"Got it," he acknowledged as he tugged the book in question free. As Spike placed the book into the pile, a knocking came from the door.

Twilight paused before abandoning her search. "That must be the girls," she mused as she trotted over to the door and opened it. Sure enough, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie were standing there. None of them looked like they had gotten a good night's sleep. Pinkie Pie seemed to be carrying a confectionary box, effortlessly balancing it atop her head.

"Mornin' Twi," Applejack greeted as Twilight let the trio in.

"Good morning," Fluttershy followed suit.

"I brought cupcakes!" Pinkie shouted, causing the other ponies to cringe a bit. It was just a little too early for that much enthusiasm.

Twilight ushered her three friends to a table. "I have tea on. Be back in a second," she dismissed herself as Pinkie set the box on the table. "Did any of you think of anything that might help?" the alicorn asked from the other room.

The lack of a response told Twilight everything she needed to know. She walked back into the room with a tea-set on a tray floating in front of her in aura. Setting the tray on the table, she served everypony simultaneously with her magic. Then she sat down at her place and beckoned Spike to take the empty spot next to her.

Instead of the tea, Applejack moved straight for the cupcakes. Opening up the box she found…four and a half cupcakes along with many, many crumbs. "Uh, Pinkie? What happened to all the cupcakes?"

As Pinkie glanced guiltily about, she found several pairs of disapproving eyes looking at her. "I couldn't help myself!" she boisterously confessed. "I get hungry when I'm upset! And I've been super-duper upset with Dashie and all. I just _had_ to have a cupcake! And another! And another!" Oh, I'm a terrible friend!" she prattled on as she burst into tears.

Twilight raised an eyebrow before lifting the cupcakes free. "It's still better than nothing, Pinkie," she coaxed Pinkie to stop crying as she floated a single cupcake to everypony, sticking Pinkie Pie with the half-eaten one. It was slightly less gross considering it was Pinkie that had already eaten the other half.

"So what's this plan of yer's, Twi?" Applejack asked after taking a bite of the sugary mini-cake.

Setting down her teacup, Twilight Sparkle sighed. "None of us know of a way to get Rainbow Dash airborne again, so the first thing we need to do is find somepony that might," she reasoned. "I already sent Princess Celestia a letter asking if she knew of any magics that might help.

"Oh, do you think Princess Celestia will know what to do?" Fluttershy demurely asked.

"I certainly hope so, but we shouldn't put all of our eggs in one basket, either," Twilight replied before pointed to the pile of books she and her number one assistant had gathered. "I'm hoping to find some sort of literature on the matter." She then turned to Applejack. "I was thinking maybe you could go to the Everfree Forest and talk to Zecora. Apple Bloom seems to get along quite well with her."

Applejack nodded. "Ah'm sure Applebloom'd like that, but do yah really think Zecora'll know anythin'?"

"It can't hurt to check," Twilight reasoned before turning to Pinkie Pie. "Nopony else knows the citizens of Ponyville better than you, Pinkie," she praised. "Can you go around town and see if anypony knows of any stories or legends or anything like that relating to wings? Any lead might help."

Pinkie Pie ducked under the table for a split-second before reappearing wearing a combat helmet and face-paint. "Yes, ma'am!" she firmly asserted as she saluted.

Twilight rolled her eyes at Pinkie Pie before she set her gaze on Fluttershy. She had to sigh before she could find the courage to speak. "Fluttershy, I…listen," she stumbled. Recomposing herself, she tried again, "I can think of somepony that can almost certainly fix Rainbow Dash's wing, and I think that you are the only pony in all of Equestria that might be able to convince him to help."

"What? Yah know somepony that can fix 'er? What're we doin' sittin' 'round here for?" Applejack asserted as she slammed a hoof on the table.

"We all know him," Twilight somberly stated, "but Fluttershy is the only one that even has a chance to convince him to help us."

Fluttershy was a bit unnerved at how…difficult Twilight was making the task seem, but if could save Rainbow Dash there wasn't anything the timid mare wasn't willing to do. "I'll help any way I can," she volunteered.

Sighing again, Twilight peered into Fluttershy's blue orbs. "I need you to go and try to persuade Discord to come help us. I've already asked Princess Celestia where he is in the letter and—"

"Now wait just a darn minute!" Applejack protested. "Yah can't just ask Fluttershy to do that! Especially not alone!"

"I don't mind," Fluttershy softly said. Perhaps a little bit too softly, as nopony seemed to hear her.

"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie agreed with Applejack. "Discord is crazy scary!" she asserted. "Sending poor, little Fluttershy alone to face Discord is just too cruel!"

"It's really not a big deal," Fluttershy mumbled.

Twilight held up her hooves in her own defense. "I never said she had to do it alone! We don't even know where he is yet!"

"I know where Discord lives," Fluttershy quietly claimed.

"Is it even worth it to be in that guy's debt?" Applejack argued. "This seems more like a last-resort plan to me!"

"Girls…"

"We've been on last-resort plans since last night!" Twilight retorted.

"Girls!" Fluttershy finally spoke up loud enough to draw attention to herself. She immediately became self-conscious and tried to hide behind her mane. "Um…I really don't mind going to visit Discord. It's been a few weeks since my last visit. He might be starting to get worried about me."

Everypony, even Pinkie, just stared incredulously at Fluttershy. It took several seconds before Twilight could even form a sentence. "F-Fluttershy, you…visit Discord?" she sputtered out as she shot the yellow mare a befuddled expression.

Fluttershy nodded with a small smile. "Of course I do. He is my friend, after all," she claimed as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "I'll make sure the animals are taken care of and pack a bag. I'm sure Discord will be able to help."

"O-okay…" Twilight muttered, still stunned.

After a couple of minutes of silence, Applejack spoke up. "So am Ah still going to Zecora's?"

"It certainly can't hurt to check," Twilight smiled.

It didn't take but a minute longer for everypony to finish their cupcakes and tea. Applejack left to go pick up Apple Bloom to go to Zecora's. Fluttershy went to take care of her animal friends before heading off to see Discord. That left Pinkie Pie to go harass the unsuspecting ponies of Ponyville. At least they would have a good time of it…probably. Twilight Sparkle and Spike stayed behind at the library to scour every last bit of literature in Ponyville for a solution.

In spite of the enormous workload in front of her, Twilight just couldn't help but to smile. With so many ponies exploring so many routes, there was no way they were going to fail. One of them was certain to return triumphant and they would be able to fix Rainbow Dash the second she got out of the hospital.

Setting her mind to the task at hand, she lied down as she brought a book from the pile to herself with her aura. "I'm going to get started on reading through these books," she announced as a purple aura manipulated the tome in front of her. "Spike, go ahead and look for any other books that might help."

"Sure thing," Spike acknowledged with a smile.

* * *

Author's Notes - Another short chapter. This one isn't very interesting after the first scene, but it had to be done for plot development and blah, blah, blah...

Next chapter will be better! Well, at least more interesting. It will have Discord after all!


	7. Dining with Discord

Wings of Friendship

* * *

Chapter 07  
Dining with Discord

* * *

It had been nearly an hour since her friends had left to try and find a way to restore Rainbow Dash's wing. Already Spike had scoured every shelf in the library at least a half dozen times resulting in a massive pile of books next to the studious alicorn.

"I can't help but wonder why you're going through all this trouble," Spike criticized.

Twilight looked up from her book. "What do you mean?"

"Isn't Fluttershy going to get Discord to fix Rainbow's wing? Not to mention Princess Celestia and Zecora," he counted the possible routes of aid on his claws.

"What else am I supposed to do, Spike?" Twilight questioned with a tinge of desperation in her voice. "Just sit around and do nothing until they let us see Rainbow Dash?"

Spike withered a bit as he fell silent. He hadn't even considered how Twilight was feeling. "I'm worried about her, too," he sympathized.

As Twilight turned back to her book, Spike felt a churning deep in his stomach. He knew where this was going as his cheeks puffed up. Then, with a mighty belch, he coughed up a scroll.

"Twilight!" Spike announced, but before he could tell her that Celestia had sent a letter, the purple pony plowed him over and unfurled the scroll with her magic.

_Dear Twilight Sparkle,_

_My most faithful student, I am deeply concerned to learn of Rainbow Dash's accident and I pray for her wellbeing. I have sent physicians from the palace to Ponyville to help in any way they can. I would be more than happy to help in any other way I can. Please give Rainbow Dash my warmest regards when next you meet._

_I have dispatched our best scholars to scour the libraries for any spell that will allow Rainbow Dash to fly as she had before. However, I regret to inform you that I am unaware of any such spell. I do not have high hopes for the scholars uncovering one, either. This is not the sort of spell to be lost to the sands of time._

_While such magic is not inconceivable, I fear that no such spell exists. However, if such a spell were to exist, I am confident that you, Twilight Sparkle, will be capable of uncovering it. Even if it does not exist, I still have faith that you will find a way. You have enormous potential, a masterful understanding of magic, and many invaluable friends. Do not lose hope._

_I believe in you,  
Celestia_

_P.S. If you wish to find Discord, why not try asking Fluttershy?_

Twilight stared despondently at the letter. Even Princess Celestia didn't have the magic necessary to restore Rainbow Dash's lost wing. Truth be told, the newest princess didn't hold high hopes for Zecora, either. Pinkie was a shot in the dark to begin with. That meant that the only hope left was in Fluttershy convincing Discord to help.

_How did things get so bad so quickly?_ Twilight agonized.

"Is…everything okay?" Spike delicately prodded. "What'd the princess say?"

"She can't help," Twilight muttered, only having half-heard the question. "It's…all up to Fluttershy now."

Meanwhile, in a land of impossibilities, Fluttershy was having a pleasant picnic with the god of chaos. They were in a shady meadow on a blanket of shimmering threads that seemed to be made of gemstones stretched out into strings. An open picnic basket was surrounded by a tea set and cakes as Fluttershy and Discord sat across from each other.

"Come, come now, Fluttershy, that frown doesn't suit you at all," Discord chided as Fluttershy rotated upside-down. Even then the frown didn't quite look like a smile, and the effort did little to ease the pain evident in the pony's blue eyes.

"Why?" Fluttershy asked desperately as she tried her hardest not break down and cry. "Why can't you heal Rainbow Dash?"

"Oh, I _could_ heal her easily," he claimed as he outstretched an empty teacup and held it upside-down over the teapot's spout and let the tea flow against gravity to settle in the bottom of the cup.

"Then why won't you?"

Turning the teacup over in an attempt to bring it to his lips, the tea spilled upward onto the ground. Wait, wasn't Fluttershy the one upside down? Looking around, he found himself to be the one upside down. "This won't do," he muttered as he snapped his fingers. Instantly, he was back on his feet on the ground. Oddly enough, he was now dressed in a red plaid shirt and holding an axe. He turned to a nearby tree and felled it with a single swing.

The tree crashed right into the picnic, prompting Fluttershy to close her eyes as she recoiled. Suddenly, the yellow mare felt a comfortable, warm, and watery feeling. Peeking out, she found herself in a Jacuzzi filled with a dark liquid. The tree and the rest of the picnic were gone. A strong, soothing odor tempted her to raise a hoof out of the water and lick it. It was tea. She was in a hot tub filled with delicious tea.

"Cannonball!" Discord's voice rang out, but for the life of her, Fluttershy couldn't find the god of chaos anywhere. The next the she knew, an enormous splash rose up as Discord flew out of the hot tub wearing a monocle and top hat. He was pristinely dry. Fluttershy, on the other hoof, was soaked in tea.

Leaning against the side of the hot tub, he produced a tea cup and dipped it in before bringing it to his lips in an overly-dignified manner. "Now, Fluttershy," he picked up the disjointed conversation as he eased himself into the tub, "let me ask you: have you tried to help your friend on your own?"

Fluttershy looked a bit ashamed as she ran a hoof idly through the bubbly tea. It was surprisingly comfortable and the smell was intoxicating. "Well, no," she bashfully admitted.

"Then why would you have me do it for you?" Discord challenged as he pulled a crumpet out of the tea and dipped it back down in before tossing it down his gullet. A floating tray of the treats appeared next to Fluttershy with a snap of Discord's fingers as he continued, "You and your friends were able to defeat me. Surely you are capable of anything I am."

It was a complicated and confusing conflict of ideas. Of course she and her friends were capable of amazing—even impossible—things, but there was no way they could fix Rainbow Dash's wing on their own…could they? "I-I don't…is it even possible?" she stammered as she tentatively grabbed a crumpet and gave it a petite nibble.

"Why don't you give it a try?" chaos incarnate coaxed as he suddenly appeared in a suit. "I'm sure that know-it-all unicorn has something up her sleeve." He emphasized the saying by pushing up one of his sleeves, causing dozens of small critters to flock out. There were chipmunks, birds, lizards, frogs, and even a bear. They all gathered around the hot tub as they joined the bizarre tea party with appropriately-sized teacups.

Fluttershy pushed the tray of crumpets, sending it floating around for the critters to enjoy. The buttery mare didn't care much for Discord badmouthing Twilight, but she allowed the negative emotions to pass. There were more important things to worry about.

"Um…you really think we have what it takes to help her?" Fluttershy delicately prodded.

Discord rolled his eyes. "A better question would be if there was anything the six of you can't do," he chided as he snapped his fingers, causing the Jacuzzi to be filled with blackberry cobbler instead of tea. "If only I were so capable," he lamented as he lifted his top hat and pulled a fork from it so he could dig in.

While flattered, Fluttershy couldn't find the words to respond. Bringing a gooey, cobbler-covered hoof to her lips, she gave it a petit lick. It was delicious. The animals seemed to agree, considering all their faces were buried in the sweet desert.

"Um…Discord," she finally spoke up.

Sensing the sincerity in his friend's voice, Discord banished the entire hot tub from existence along with the conjured critters. "Now, can you tell me what's on your mind?" he asked from a plush lounge chair as Fluttershy appeared on a couch. The top hat and monocle were gone. Now all he was wearing was a pair of square-lensed glasses perched on the tip of his nose. In his hands were a clipboard and quill.

Fluttershy was a bit startled at the sudden change. Even if this sort of thing happened often with her…eccentric friend, she was just too easily frightened. At least her fur wasn't sticky. In fact, she was as squeaky clean as if she had just taken a bath.

As her wave of anxiety dissipated, Fluttershy snuggled into the super-comfy couch. "Um, w-well, you said that we need to help Rainbow Dash on your own—and we want to—but we just don't know where to even start. That's why we are trying to get help from anypony that might know how. "

"Hmmm," Discord contemplated as he stared at the clipboard and adjusted his glasses. "But if you have somepony else do it for you, then how will you feel any sense of accomplishment? Where will the joy of discovering the answer be?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "Oh, I don't care at all about any of that. I just want Rainbow Dash to be all better."

"Tsk, tsk," the chaotic beast chided as he scribbled on the clipboard. "It's that lack of confidence that is holding you back. Why, I recently heard that Twilight Sparkle created new magic and was crowned a princess of Equestria. Even I can't do that…but why would I want to?" Discord adopted a silly sort of expression as his train of thought derailed. "Even 'king' is a step down from my current title." He chuckled a bit as a feminine crown appeared his head. "Princess Discord, could you imagine such a thing?"

Tossing the crown away, he showed the scribble to Fluttershy. "What does this look like to you?"

"Um…a tornado?" the meek pegasus guessed.

Discord looked to the picture with a quizzical look. "It was supposed to be a dust devil." He then turned the clipboard back to Fluttershy, "How about now?"

Even though he didn't scribble anything new, the picture was different—though just as crudely drawn as the last. "It looks like a cute little bug," Fluttershy honestly answered. "A firefly?

"Close…but I don't think this is getting us anywhere," Discord frowned as he examined the clipboard again. "Looks like our time for today is up, too," he announced as he turned the picture back to Fluttershy to show a hand-drawn clock. The minute hand rapidly approached the top of the clock where the hour hand was waiting. As the two met, the drawing began to ring. Tossing the noisy clipboard carelessly over his shoulder, it exploded. The blast cleared away the chair and couch leaving just Fluttershy and Discord standing in the shady meadow.

"I still don't know what to do," Fluttershy pathetically whimpered.

"Isn't that the fun of it?" Discord rhetorically asked with a crazed smile as he handed Fluttershy a suitcase and placed a flower necklace over her head. "Now, go do whatever you can and don't give up!" he cheered as he kissed her each cheek before stepping back and waving. "Come back soon! Toodle-oo!"

In a flash, Fluttershy was standing in the middle of Ponyville a stone's throw away from Twilight's library. She glanced to the suitcase before knocking it over with a hoof. It popped open to reveal the bag she had packed and taken with her meet with the god of chaos along with a single pinion—a fiery, orange-red feather that could only have come from a phoenix. It was her favorite ever since the first one she received from Philomena. She briefly wondered if she had told Discord about it or if he just knew as she reattached her saddlebag and stowed the feather as well as the weird necklace.

Head and ears down, the pink-maned pegasus shuffled towards Twilight's door. She had all but promised her friends that Discord would help. They were her friends and, given their attitude towards the bizarre creature of chaos, would completely understand. But still, Fluttershy felt as though she would be letting them down. Worse was the fact that she wasn't able to help Rainbow Dash. Her oldest and most faithful friend was in dire straits and she couldn't do a thing for her. It made her feel useless.

_I let everypony down._

* * *

Author's Notes - Daaw, poor Flutters.

This chapter ran long, so I split it up. As a result the next chapter is already half done. Yay!


	8. Square One

Wings of Friendship

* * *

Chapter 08  
Square One

* * *

Fluttershy slowly approached Twilight's door. Her task to get Discord to help out Rainbow Dash had been an utter failure. She had to tell her friends, but she didn't want to. For the second time in as many days she would have to crawl to the ponies most dear to her and break their hearts.

"Oh! Fluttershy!" an elegant voice greeted just as Fluttershy dragged herself to Twilight's door.

The timid mare looked up to find Rarity fast-approaching. "Um…h-hello Rarity," Fluttershy timidly greeted.

"You won't believe what I've just heard from the nurses!" the white unicorn announced as she brushed by Fluttershy and knocked on Twilight's door.

Fluttershy couldn't wait for Twilight to get to the door. "Is Rainbow Dash going to be okay!?" she urgently asked.

Rarity sort of shrugged as she tilted her head to the side while Twilight opened the door. She was trying to tell Fluttershy that she would tell her inside, but the message just didn't get through.

"Rarity! Fluttershy!" the alicorn greeted. "I hope you have good news!"

"Good, and bad," Rarity announced as she entered the library to find Applejack and Spike. "Where is Pinkie Pie?"

"Still harassin' the good folk of Ponyville, I reckon," Applejack answered. "What's the news?"

"Oh! Yes!" Rarity exclaimed. "Well, it turns out that this morning a team of distinguished doctors from Canterlot arrived to help with Rainbow Dash's recovery. Word has it that they were sent to help by Princess Celestia herself!" she regaled the room. "Thanks to them, Rainbow Dash is now in stable condition and starting to recover! Isn't that just marvelous?"

"That's great, Rarity," Twilight tentatively smiled. "So…what's the bad news?"

Rarity frowned as she looked down and traced tiny circles on the floor with her hoof. "Well…they still can't do a thing about her wing, and they still said that she might end up with some other permanent injuries. Only time will tell," she guiltily revealed as she looked around at the sad faces. "I take it you girls haven't found a way to fix her wing?"

All eyes found their way once more to Fluttershy. "The princess and Zecora were unable to help," Twilight sadly announced. "What did Discord say?"

Fluttershy withered under the expectant stares. She was actually on the verge of tears as she tried desperately to disappear behind her pink locks. "I-I-I'm s-sorry!" she apologized as she failed to contain her tears. "Discord…he w-won't help!"

"Can't say Ah'm surprised," Applejack muttered as she sat next to Fluttershy and draped a leg around her in an effort to comfort her. "It ain't yer fault. I'm sure you tried yer best."

"Um…" Spike spoke up as he wrung his claws together in worry. "What're we gonna do now?"

Several glares fell upon Spike as Fluttershy's sobbing amplified. It was an open and honest question—the only problem was that the baby dragon was so concerned with Rainbow Dash's fate that he neglected to take into account Fluttershy's feelings.

"I do have more news!" Rarity tried to change the subject in an effort to assuage Fluttershy's guilt. "They said that Rainbow Dash is awake now, but that they won't allow visitors until at _least_ tomorrow morning."

"What? Why?" Twilight turned her attention away from Fluttershy and stared at Rarity. "If she's awake, why can't we go visit her?"

Rarity sighed. "They say she won't be cleared for visitors until after visiting hours are over," she regurgitated the things the nurse had told her. "I just can't understand why. But! I can think of _somepony_ that they might let in to see her early," the elegant unicorn hinted as she looked to Twilight.

Being a princess was not something Twilight particularly cared for. Using her newfound status to manipulate others? That was far beyond the studious pony's comfort zone. But still…waiting another night before being allowed to see Rainbow Dash was going to drive her absolutely batty. Not to mention the begging stares of her friends. They were just as worried and she was the only one that could possibly alleviate their fears.

"I…I'll go see what they say…after Pinkie Pie gets back," Twilight reluctantly relented. "I want to see if she's made any progress."

A silence crept in. Fluttershy had obviously stifled her sobs, but nopony quite felt like celebrating. It truly was a bittersweet moment. Rainbow Dash might be on the road to recovery, but they were all at a complete loss as to how to restore her wing. Already Princess Celestia had come up empty along with Zecora. And while Discord was apparently able, he wasn't willing.

"Hey," Applejack spoke up. "Discord ain't gonna help, but that don't mean he ain't capable, right? Why don't we go give him what for and make him fix Rainbow?"

Twilight watched Fluttershy a moment to see if she was going to say something. When it became obvious the pegasus wasn't about to, Twilight spoke her mind. "I'm certain Fluttershy tried her best to do just that. And if Fluttershy can't make him help, what can the rest of us possibly do? Do you really think that the princess would condone us taking the Elements of Harmony and threatening him?"

Applejack was abashed as she looked down. It was a pleasant thought; strapping on the Elements and beating Discord into submission. But, as always, Twilight was right. They couldn't just go and do something so brash.

"Yer right, Ah guess," Applejack relented as she poked the floor with her hoof. Logic be darned, she wanted to thrash Discord. Refusing to help Dash and making Fluttershy cry—that guy certainly deserved a good working over.

"Um, actually," Fluttershy spoke up as soon as there was a silence quiet enough that she could be heard. "Discord told me why he wouldn't help."

"Because he's a no-good snake in the grass!" Applejack interjected.

Fluttershy shook her head. "He…um, Discord said he wouldn't help because he seemed to think that…well, that we could do it all on our own."

"On our own?" Twilight skeptically repeated Fluttershy's words.

"H-he mentioned you, specifically, Twilight," the shy mare replied.

Twilight just lowered her head. "I don't see how. We don't even know where to start; what to do."

After a second of silent contemplation, Twilight snapped her head back up. Her eyes were wide with wonder as she glanced about. "Spike! Where is the letter Princess Celestia sent me!?"

Spike scrambled over to a nearby shelf and pulled a scroll free. In a flash it was wrapped in a purple aura as Twilight snatched it away from Spike and unfurled it in front of herself. As her eyes darted over the page, her door burst open to reveal a pink pony with a confectionary box atop her head.

Pinkie Pie plodded over to her friends and dumped the box on the floor. She then sat down heavily as she frowned. "Sorry girls, I talked to _everypony_! Nopony knows a thing!"

"Uh, Pinkie?" Applejack spoke up as she looked into the box. "All that's in here is…a used napkin…and a rock," she accused as she pulled the items out.

"It was an apology cake," Pinkie claimed.

Applejack just grunted as she shoved the box aside. "We didn't have a bit of luck either," she informed Pinkie. "We're back to square one."

"Are you sure there wasn't anything? A rumor perhaps?" Rarity prodded.

"No, nothing at all," Pinkie mournfully replied before her demeanor rapidly shifted. "Rarity! You're back!" she excitedly stated the obvious. "Does that mean Rainbow Dash is okay!?"

Rarity frowned. "Well, yes and no," she explained. "She is going to make it, but the doctors still can't do a thing for her wing. She's awake now and…" the pristinely white unicorn trailed off as she realized with Pinkie back, Twilight was now free to go see Rainbow Dash! "Twilight—"

"I've got it!" Twilight excitedly exclaimed as she set the letter aside.

"Got what?" Applejack asked.

"What Princess Celestia was trying to tell me! What Discord is expecting me to do!" Twilight enthused. In an instant all the girls and Spike were gathered in front of the purple alicorn.

"Do tell!"

"Y'all can fix RD?"

"Tell us! Tell us! Tell us!"

"No spell exists that can replace Rainbow Dash's wing properly," Twilight explained. "So all I have to do is create one!" Instead of the awe she was expecting to be met with, all she found was her friends staring dumbfounded at her.

"Make a spell?" Rarity warily questioned. "Don't get me wrong, the magic you can do is absolutely astounding. You even finished that Starswirl…thing. But can you really just fashion a spell like that?"

Twilight's confidence clearly wavered at the accusation. "I know it's a stretch, and, honestly, I don't even know where to start," she muttered as she sat down.

After a moment's contemplation the alicorn adopted a determined expression as she stood and stamped a hoof on the floor. "But none of that matters! I know it won't be easy and it's probably not even possible for me to do it on my own, but with my best friends to help me I'm confident that it _can_ be done! I _will_ come up with a way to make a spell to fix Rainbow Dash's wing. I don't know what all it might take, but I'm sure we will be able to find a way to make it work, together."

After a moment's silence, Twilight's confidence seemed to falter again. Taking a couple of steps over to the alicorn, Applejack stood at Twilight's side as she held out a hoof. "Ah'm in. Whatever it takes!"

"Whatever it takes!" Pinkie agreed as her hoof met Applejack's.

"Of course, whatever it takes," Rarity joined in, daintily meeting the other hooves with her own.

"Whatever it takes," Fluttershy repeated in a surprisingly firm manner as her hoof joined the rest.

"Yeah! Whatever it takes!" Spike proudly proclaimed as he threw his claw in.

"We are going to get Rainbow Dash's wing back, whatever it takes," Twilight smiled as her hoof landed atop the rest.

The entire group smiled as they, for the first time, felt confident about being able to help Rainbow Dash. It was because they were no longer relying on the boons of Zecora, Princess Celestia, the citizens of Ponyville, or even Discord. They were relying on their closest friends. The friends they all knew would never let each other down, especially on something this important.

"So!" Pinkie spoke up as the huddle collapsed. "How're we gonna make a new spell to save Dashie!? I bet it'll be _amazing_!"

Twilight smiled sheepishly as she stood there. "I have no idea!"

* * *

OUTTAKE

"Wait, wait, wait," Pinkie practically shouted as she used her front hooves to emphasize her words. "Didn't Twilight get _two_ wings from that cuh-razy spell when she became a princess!? Just use that spell on Dash! She'll have _three_ wings!"

"Well, it's not that simple," Twilight claimed. "I sort of got my wings from Princess Celestia when she made me a princess."

"So…it wasn't the spell?" Pinkie asked as she flopped down on her rear, her face contorted in concentration as she struggled to understand.

Twilight shrugged a bit. "You know, it wasn't really all that clear, but I'm going to go with no."

"You mean you don't even know!?"

"Hey! Magic is vague, fickle, and mysterious!" Twilight defended herself.

Pinkie contemplated a moment as she rubbed her chin. "Soooo…what we need to do is get Dashie to be a princess!"

Twilight facehooved. "No," she denied as her hoof trailed down her face. "That would just give her a horn."

"WHAT!?"

* * *

Author's Notes - The outtake is not cannon, of course. Just felt like pointing out a plot hole in a humorous manner. Honestly I still have no clue what happened there at the end of Magical Mystery Cure.

So! Now Twilight needs to come up with a spell that will get Rainbow Dash a new wing. But first she needs to go visit Dashie in the hospital.


	9. Discharged

Wings of Friendship

* * *

Chapter 09  
Discharged

* * *

It had been one week—seven very long days—since Rainbow Dash had landed in the hospital. Twilight had spent absolutely all her free time studying up on magics that might restore Rainbow's wing as well as the intricate anatomy of pegasus wings. Of course, she always made time to visit the ailing pegasus at least once a day.

Her diligence was paying off. She already had a rough idea of what needed to be done, but the doing was going to take a Herculean effort and, if past experience was any indication, about a million tries to get it right. It was simple, in theory. Much like changing an apple into an orange, she needed to find something that wasn't a wing and turn it into a wing. Then she would need to use a spell to breathe life into the wing so that Rainbow Dash could have the proper control she would require. In between the two she would have to attach the wing to Rainbow Dash. That would be the trickiest part…maybe.

Sighing and putting the book aside with her magic, Twilight Sparkle looked up and had to blink a few times to clear her vision. While that didn't really work, shaking her head seemed to do the trick. She had clearly spent too long reading without giving her eyes a break. Slowly she climbed to her hooves, joints popping and muscles stretching the entire way. How long had she been lying there reading?

"Spike?" Twilight called out as she looked for her baby dragon assistant.

"Something you need?" he eagerly asked as he leaned down the stairs that climbed to the loft.

"Do you have the time?" the studious alicorn asked as she stretched, liberating her muscles and joints from their stagnation.

Spike knew exactly what she was asking about, even if she was doing it in a roundabout way. "We have about an hour before noon," he claimed as he looked out a nearby window to find the sun's position. "There's still a little time before we go visit Rainbow Dash."

Twilight sighed as she looked around. She was still stiff from reading for so long and there wasn't enough spare time to attempt to fine tune the potential spells she would be relying on. That meant one thing: a few minutes of downtime. Her nature could not let that stand. Something productive had to fill that time. She looked to the side as she rubbed her chin in contemplation. After a moment, she suddenly smiled as she set her hoof back to the floor.

"Let's go pay Rarity a visit!" Twilight insisted as she grabbed her saddlebags in her aura and attached them.

By the time Twilight had her bags secured, Spike had the door open. Twilight had to do a double-take. It was quite impressive that Spike had descended the stairs that quickly. _Must have been the power of love_, she mused with a small smile and a roll of her eyes. Spike's crush on Rarity was both adorable and exhausting.

In no time Twilight trotted into the Carousel Boutique alongside Spike. The sound of the entry chime stirred the fashionable unicorn from her work at a sewing machine. "Welcome to the Carousel Bou…" she listlessly began to greet, but stopped short as she turned to find her friends. "Oh, hello," she said with a bit more energy as she set her tape measure and glasses aside.

"Hi Rarity!" Spike enthusiastically greeted, seemingly oblivious.

Rarity didn't look quite like herself and neither did her work. They both looked fine and acceptable, but were missing that passionate flair. "Are you holding up okay?" Twilight asked with a genuine concern in her voice.

Rarity considered lying and saying everything was just fine, but she opted for honesty instead as she shook her head. "Poor Rainbow Dash's plight has had a rather…negative effect on my creative process," she admitted. "I still get orders in, but I haven't been able to even begin to design any new dresses."

"I actually wanted to talk to you about Rainbow Dash," Twilight explained with a gesture of her hoof. "I'm starting to get a pretty good idea of what it'll take to make her a new wing. I was hoping you could help."

"Anything!" Rarity exclaimed with a huge smile.

Twilight couldn't keep a straight face. Rarity's eager smile was just too contagious. "Well, I'm going to need somepony to sew a pegasus wing or three," she elaborated.

The elegant unicorn glowed as her eyes sparkled. "Twilight, darling, of course I can do that!" she enthusiastically volunteered. Rarity immediately started to gather bolts, threads, and other supplies to get started on the new task.

"You shouldn't put too much effort into it," Twilight cautioned. "They…won't actually be going on Rainbow Dash."

The materials dropped haphazardly on the designing table. "I'm afraid I don't quite understand you, darling."

"Consider them practice, for both you and me," the purple pony elaborated with a sheepish smile. "I actually need you to do one other favor for me."

Twilight's apprehension gave Rarity pause. "I'll help if I can," she volunteered a bit more reluctantly.

"I need somepony to, um… Try them on, so to speak," the alicorn vaguely requested.

Rarity raised an eyebrow as she gave Twilight an uneasy gaze. "Now, when you say 'try them on'…"

Twilight sighed as she looked away and shyly pawed at the floor. "I am going to require quite a bit of practice with the spell to get it right for Rainbow Dash. I'm going to need somepony to be, um…"

"A test subject," Rarity spat.

Twilight gave Rarity an uncertain smile that said both "sorry" and "please" at the same time. "I need a pony that doesn't have wings," she explained as she stretched her wings out for emphasis.

Rarity sighed as she reminded herself that it was for Rainbow Dash. "All right," she relented. "So long as I don't end up with some weird wing permanently attached to my back."

"I'm ninety-nine percent sure that won't happen," Twilight Sparkle reassured the fashionista. After a second she amended her statement with a rocking motion of her hoof, "Ninety-five."

A small whimper escaped Rarity's throat. She was joking about that, but apparently it was a real risk. Taking a longing look at her shoulder while it was still unmarred by some sort of Frankenstein wing, she took the plunge. "I-I'll do it. For Rainbow Dash."

"Great!" Twilight smiled before turning around and heading towards the door. "Just let me know when you finish the wings and have some free time."

"R-right," Rarity reluctantly agreed. She still didn't much like the idea of being the subject of experimental magics. "I take it you are going to go visit Rainbow Dash?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes," she confirmed before turning to Spike. "Spike, why don't you stay here and help out Rarity?"

"I would absolutely adore a helping-hoof from my little Spikey-wikey!" Rarity enthused as she approached her design table.

"Anything for you, Rarity!" Spike eagerly volunteered.

"I'll leave it up to you two," Twilight said as she departed.

Having used up her free time, the studious pony hurried off to take care what had quickly become her daily routine. Since the hospital food wasn't exactly Rainbow Dash's favorite, Twilight stopped by the café every day to pick up lunch for herself and Dash. Hopefully her news today would bring Rainbow Dash out of her funk.

When Twilight first visited the cyan pegasus the day after the horrible accident she was…bad. Crying, hurt, angry: she was completely and totally inconsolable. Even the news that she and the rest of her friends were hard at work coming up with a way to fix her wing couldn't really calm her down. After that first day she spent the next day or two on an emotional rollercoaster. Dash would be sad one minute, angry the next, and then in denial another minute later. More recently she just lied there in the hospital bed doing a whole lot of nothing. It was as if she had lost hope.

At first everypony visited Dash every day, but already that was starting to change. Aside from Twilight, the only pony to visit her every single day since the incident was Fluttershy. Applejack visited her when she could, but the farmer simply had too many responsibilities to make it to the hospital every day. Rarity hadn't been to the hospital in two days. She claimed to have been swamped at the boutique, but Twilight suspected that Rarity simply couldn't stand to see Rainbow Dash like that anymore. The worst was Pinkie Pie. The party pony tried everything in her bag of tricks to cheer Dash up. When that failed, she improvised. When that failed, the pink pony broke down crying herself and gave up. She hadn't been to visit Rainbow Dash in three days and, honestly, hadn't been seen outside of Sugarcube Corner much, either.

As Twilight entered the hospital she made a mental note to visit Pinkie Pie before returning to her library. Not much managed to rain on the pink pony's parade, but she drew her happiness from the joy of others. Being unable to bring a smile to a pony that desperately needed one—not to mention a dear friend—must have been a living nightmare for her. She could probably use a friend about now.

Walking into Rainbow Dash's room, she found an unexpected sight. Not only was Fluttershy there at Dash's bedside, Applejack was there. "Hey girls," Twilight greeted with an uneasy smile. "I didn't know everypony would be here. I only brought lunch for two."

"Hey Twi," Applejack greeted with a forced smile.

"Good afternoon," Fluttershy absentmindedly muttered. Most of her attention was locked on Rainbow Dash as she wore a concerned expression.

The rainbow pony was clearly not having a good day. She didn't even look up at Twilight. Her gaze was focused a million miles away. At least her injuries seemed to be healing well. Her front right leg was no longer in traction, though the enormous cast that wrapped around the leg and all the way over her shoulder was still there. Virtually all of her torso was still wrapped in bandages, but the stitches on the side of her head were looking…well, they were easier to look at, at least.

Rainbow's despondent expression belied her mending wounds. Her wing was gone and that was the only injury she cared at all about. It was also the only injury that wasn't going to improve with time.

Twilight floated two paper sacks out of her saddlebag. She placed one on the table next to Dash and set the other one in Rainbow's lap. "I brought you a daisy sandwich and hay fries," Twilight spoke with a forced cheer voice.

Rainbow Dash muttered her thanks as she just stared at the bag in front of her. Fluttershy stepped in, taking out the sandwich and fries and setting them in front of Dash. "Aren't you going to eat?" the yellow pegasus coaxed in a motherly voice. "It looks really yummy."

"Ah don't suppose yah heard?" Applejack prodded as Twilight set out her lunch.

Twilight shook her head as she took a bite of her own sandwich.

"They're dischargin' RD!" the farmer claimed as she stomped a hoof. "She can't even walk on her own yet!"

Twilight coughed as some of her food went down the wrong pipe. "Wh-what!?"

Applejack pulled her head to the side, silently indicating towards the door. Twilight reluctantly left her meal and Rainbow Dash as she followed Applejack out into the hallway. "What's going on?" Twilight whispered once they were isolated from the two pegasi.

"They're already getting the paperwork and everythin' done. They're gonna kick her out anytime now!" Applejack fumed. "She ain't ready to leave! We can't take care of her like this! She needs somepony to look after her twenty-four seven!"

"Why are they pushing her out so soon?" Twilight asked as she peeked back into the hospital room. Amazingly, Fluttershy was getting Rainbow Dash to eat—even if she did have to resort to hoof-feeding the cyan pegasus.

Applejack sighed to get Twilight's attention back on her. "They're hoping Dash'll cheer up if she ain't cooped up here," she regurgitated what she'd been told by the nurses. The fiery earth pony was still sore about the hospital's decision. "Ah told 'em the only thing that'll make her happy is getting her wing back. They don't pay no mind!"

Twilight perked up a bit when Applejack mentioned Rainbow Dash's wing. "I've actually made some progress with my spell," she eagerly announced. "It's not much, but I'm hoping it might lift Rainbow Dash's spirits a little."

Applejack nodded as they headed back to Rainbow Dash's room. Surprisingly, Fluttershy had managed to get Rainbow Dash to eat her entire sandwich and half her fries. Twilight was impressed at how well Fluttershy was able to handle the distraught pegasus. Usually Twilight counted herself lucky if she managed to get Dash to eat half a sandwich.

"So…are you looking forward to getting out today?" Twilight asked.

"I guess," Dash muttered.

The lackluster response didn't shake Twilight too much. She'd hoped for something more enthusiastic, but a lot of their conversations had gone like this since the accident. "I have some good news of my own! I've been making some good progress with the spell to fix your wing!"

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash perked up. "R-really!?" Dash tentatively asked.

"I've got a plan of what needs to be done," Twilight confidently claimed as she approached her barely-touched meal. "I just need to refine the magic and find the right mix of materials. I should be able to make a working wing before you're out of that cast!"

"You're sure?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Dash had already gotten her hopes shattered once. A week ago Twilight promised to find a spell to restore her wing and turned around in the same breath and said that she didn't even know where to start. Rainbow didn't resent Twilight for it. The studious pony was only trying to help out. At the time Rainbow Dash thought that Twilight was just lying to try and make her feel better, but now the alicorn seemed to be living up to her word. Could it really be true? Did Twilight really forge a spell to fix her wing?

"It should work," Twilight assured. "The little details might take a while to work out, but it should at least get you airborne."

Rainbow Dash let a scintilla of a smile touch her lips. "You really mean it?" she asked disbelievingly. "You're really gonna come up with a spell to get my wing back!?"

"Well, sort of," Twilight qualified as she held up a hoof. "It won't really be 'your' wing, but it will be 'a' wing."

What little hope had settled in Rainbow washed away. "Not…_my_ wing," she muttered. "Will I still be able to fly like I could before?"

Twilight hesitated. She was confident she could get Rainbow Dash a new wing and that she would be able to fly again. But to fly like she used to—Sonic Rainboom and all—Twilight just wasn't so sure. "I-in time," she stumbled uncertainly, "maybe."

Rainbow Dash again fell silent as she looked away and hung her head. It should be enough that she would be able to fly again, but…it wasn't. Selfish or not, she wanted to fly just like she used to. It wasn't just that she wanted to be a Wonderbolt and anything short of awesome wouldn't make the cut. Everypony adored her because of her epic flying abilities. If she just flew like everypony else then all of Ponyville would stop adoring her. Scootaloo would disband her fan club. It was as if…everypony would stop loving her if she couldn't fly like she used to.

"We _will_ get you back in the sky, Rainbow Dash," Twilight assured.

"Yeah," Dash muttered in response.

After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Applejack spoke up. "So… Where are we putting Dash? We got room at Sweet Apple Acres, but we ain't got nobody with enough free time to see to her like she needs."

"Um… Rainbow Dash can stay with me and my animal friends," Fluttershy offered. "I don't mind."

"Ain't you got enough critters that need looking after?" Applejack queried.

Fluttershy shook her head. "It's not too much trouble," she assured.

"What do you want, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked as she put her half-finished sandwich aside.

Rainbow Dash looked between the farmer and the animal caretaker before shaking her head. "I wanna go home."

All three ponies lowered their heads as they felt a pang of sympathy. "We can't let y'all do that, sugarcube," Applejack denied. "What'd happen if you fell?"

"I'd rather fall than stay down here like some…earth pony!" Rainbow Dash snapped as tears stung at her eyes.

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash's doctor greeted as he came in followed by a couple of nurses carting an empty wheelchair. "We've got your paperwork all settled and you're ready to leave."

In a dizzying flurry, the nurses swept Dash into the wheelchair and were rolling her out of the room. The next thing anypony knew; Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Twilight Sparkle were all out on the hospital's front lawn. It took them a moment to get reoriented.

"I…didn't finish my sandwich," Twilight lamented as she uselessly talked to the hospital's front door.

"So, uh, where're we takin' Dash?" Applejack asked, willing her ire over Rainbow's "earth pony" comment away.

Twilight huffed as she rejoined her friends. "We can take her to Fluttershy's cottage. Rainbow Dash needs somepony that can make sure she's all right."

"I can do that," Fluttershy assured.

Rainbow ground her teeth. They were talking about her like she was some sort of invalid. Even if it was true, it still made her feel awful. She couldn't fly, couldn't walk…she apparently didn't even get a say in what would happen to her or where she would go.

Her thoughts petered out as she realized a sensation she hadn't felt in a week: sunshine warming her fur. Looking up into the sky, she saw the sun peeking out from some puffy, white clouds as a few birds passed overhead. Rainbow had never envied a bird before—being able to fly just like she used to. She never really took it for granted; she loved soaring amongst the clouds. Aside from her friends, flying was the single most important thing in her life. That's when she realized it. Not being able to fly was nothing short of a living nightmare, but she still had something more important. Her friends. And here they were looking after and doing everything they could to get her through this disaster.

For the first time since she woke up in the hospital, she felt as though everything would be okay. Yes, she still wanted to fly again. But she had been telling herself this whole time she would give anything to be able to get her wing back. Now she knew how selfish she was being. She would never trade anything for her friends. She wouldn't give them up for The Wonderbolts, nor for all of the glory in Equestria, not even for her wing. If she had her friends, she could make it as an earth pony…somehow.

Still, she longed to be up there with the birds and the clouds. Even if she could only fly as well as Fluttershy, she would trade away a _lot_ to be back up there. Just about anything short of her friends, really. Twilight's spell was enough. More than enough. If she got to fly again, just enough to take care of the weather, that was all she needed.

"T-Twilight," Dash spoke up as she tore her gaze from the sky. "Please…I-I need to fly again."

Twilight offered her a reassuring smile. "I know that. We all do," she claimed as she motioned to Applejack and Fluttershy. "We've already vowed to ourselves and to each other that we will get you back in the sky, whatever it takes. I'm not giving up and neither is anypony else."

Rainbow Dash's tears threatened to spill over. Had she not been stuck in a wheelchair with a broken leg, she would have hugged Twilight. "Girls…" she muttered, not knowing what else to say.

"We will get you through this Rainbow Dash. Together," Twilight assured as she gingerly hugged the injured pegasus. Fluttershy was quick to join in and even Applejack took part in the group hug.

"Ow…ow, ow, ow!" Rainbow Dash suddenly whimpered as the hugging quickly changed from heartwarming, to uncomfortable, to painful.

"Sorry!" the trio apologized as they shot away from Rainbow Dash.

They all offered apologetic smiles as Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Let's just get this over with," Dash groused as Applejack got behind the wheelchair and began to push her in the general direction of Fluttershy's cottage.

"I'm going to go by Sugarcube Corner," Twilight waved the trio off. "Pinkie's probably going to insist on some sort of party."

"Great," the trio groaned, not one of them looking forward to a celebration.

* * *

Author's Notes - Well now, I bet you're wondering why the hay I went and skipped a week into the future instead of doing a chapter where Rainbow wakes up and gets the terrible news. I did both, actually. But the chapter with Dash getting the news was a little too...bitter to fit in with the rest of the story so it was relegated to the editing room floor. I still have that chapter. I suppose I could post it if there was enough interest, or maybe I could do an uncut version of the story in the future.

Incidentally, that's the reason it took so long to post this chapter. I wrote a whole other one first, decided it was no good, then decided that instead of rewriting it, I would omit it. The next chapter shouldn't take as long.


	10. Party!

Wings of Friendship

* * *

Chapter 10  
Party!

* * *

Twilight Sparkle sighed as she stared up at the sign above her. It didn't have any words on it, just a big, pink cupcake. Since Rainbow Dash had been released everypony seemed to be in better spirits. The rainbow pony herself seemed to be happy to hear about Twilight's progress with the spell to make her a new wing. Rarity was happy to get to try to design a new wing for Dash. Fluttershy was just happy that Rainbow Dash was out and starting to cheer up. Applejack…well, Twilight was pretty sure that Applejack was happy about it. That just left one pony in the doldrums: Pinkie Pie.

Trotting into Sugarcube Corner, she was greeted by Mrs. Cup Cake, "Why hello there Twilight! We haven't seen you since before the accident. I hope you're holding up well."

"Pretty well, all things considered," Twilight replied as she approached the counter. "I'm a little worried about Pinkie Pie, though. I've heard she's taking it pretty bad."

Mrs. Cake's smile faded away. "Oh, dearie, I can't remember the last time poor Pinkie Pie was so upset. Do you think you could cheer her up?"

Twilight smiled. "That's what I'm hoping to accomplish!"

"She's upstairs watching the twins," Mrs. Cake pointed a hoof.

Twilight headed up the stairs to the twins' room. As she opened the door, she was met with a sight that told her this task was going to be harder than she thought. Pinkie Pie was just sitting there in the middle of the room with her head hung low. Pumpkin Cake was gnawing on Pinkie's foreleg while Pound Cake was bashing a stuffed toy with another stuffed toy over near their toy box. The most alarming thing was Pinkie's mane. Her normally curly hair hung straight down.

"Um…Pinkie Pie?" Twilight spoke up as she stepped into the room. "You okay?"

"No," was her curt reply.

_Well, that was productive,_ Twilight sighed. What little glimmer of hope she had that Pinkie would just snap out of it faded away. "What's bothering you?"

"Oh, nothing," Pinkie replied in a bitter tone. "Only that I'm the worst friend ever!" She gazed over at her flank before continuing. "What good is this stupid cutie mark of mine if I can't even cheer up the saddest pony in all of Equestria?"

Twilight rubbed the back of her neck as she tried to figure out how to approach the subject. "You know, sometimes some ponies are just…inconsolable," she gently claimed. "It's not your fault you couldn't cheer Rainbow Dash up. Nopony else could, either."

"She's one of my most bestest friends and when she needed me the most I couldn't help her at all," Pinkie flatly lamented. "I tried everything I could think of to make her smile. Some party pony I am. More like a party-pooper."

"Aww, don't say that, Pinkie Pie," Twilight urged as she sat next to the pink pony and draped a leg across her withers. "You're _always_ the life of the party."

Pinkie didn't reply other than to pull away from Twilight. As she did, Twilight felt a warm, wet sensation on her foreleg. Pulling up her leg, she found Pumpkin Pie hanging onto it with only her mouth. "You shouldn't chew on that," she chided as she gave her leg a gentle shake. When that didn't remove the foal, she used her magic to pry the youngster off of her foreleg and float her into the crib. "It's probably time for a nap, anyway," she cooed as she gave Pound Cake the same treatment before using her telekinesis to tuck the duo in. Of course, they squirmed out of their fluffy prison in no time as the duo approached the bars. Surprisingly, they were obedient enough to stay there as they gazed out at the two mares.

Twilight took a moment to recompose herself as she tried to wipe away the foal-goo from her leg. "Pinkie Pie. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself," she urged. "I know your special talent is to bring joy to others, but this situation… Well, think about it. With the loss of her wing, Rainbow Dash can't fulfill her destiny either. That's a big part of why she's so…despondent."

"So…so she feels super-duper-terrible-awful bad!?"

"Yes," Twilight answered her rather bluntly. "That's why she still needs you! Rainbow Dash could still really use a good cheering up."

"But I tried _everything_!" Pinkie Pie asserted as she finally turned back to face Twilight, revealing tearstained cheeks. "I couldn't cheer her up no matter how hard I tried!"

"You haven't tried throwing her a full-blown party, have you?" Twilight prodded.

"The hospital won't let me," the limp-maned Pinkie ground out, not bothering to blunt her bitterness.

Twilight smiled as she ribbed the grumpy pony. "Well then, it's a good thing they released her a little while ago then, huh?"

Pinkie perked up a bit as she looked to Twilight, wide-eyed. "Really?"

Twilight nodded. "Applejack and Fluttershy are getting her settled in over at Fluttershy's cottage. Too bad there won't be a party there to celebrate her getting out."

With the sound of a party favor, Pinkie's hair sprung back to its joyous, curly self. "A party!? For Rainbow Dash!?" she smiled from ear to ear. "I've gotta start getting things ready RIGHT NOW!"

Twilight smiled a bit as Pinkie Pie rushed off. She was happy that last bit managed to get Pinkie out of her funk. It was her ace in the hole. Had that party bit failed she would've had to improvise to try and to get Pinkie back to her old self. And that probably wouldn't have worked.

"Thanks, for whatever you did or said."

Twilight looked up to see Mr. Cake trotting in. "Happy to help, really," she smiled as the lanky earth pony approached the crib.

"I haven't seen her so excited in a week," Mr. Cake continued as he gathered up the twins. "She just rushed in and started baking up a storm."

"I certainly hope you mean that metaphorically," Twilight joked as she helped Mr. Cake swaddle up the foals.

Mr. Cake nodded his thanks once the twins were swaddled up against him. "I do, too," he wearily claimed as he left out the door with Twilight behind him.

While Pinkie Pie prepared for the party of the century, Fluttershy was struggling to make Rainbow Dash feel at home in her cottage. "Oh, are you sure you want to stay here on the couch?" Fluttershy asked for what had to be at least the fourth time. "I'm sure my bed would be much more comfortable."

"For the last time, Fluttershy, I'm not gonna take your bed away from you," Rainbow Dash grumpily asserted as she struggled to find a comfortable position on the plush couch. "Besides, those stairs don't look fun and I doubt you could fly me up there."

"I-I'm sorry," Fluttershy mumbled, "I wish I could fly better."

"I wish I could fly at all," Rainbow Dash muttered as she finally found a position that didn't hurt. The fact that she was stuck looking at the back of the couch was just something she'd have to deal with.

"I'm so sorry!" Fluttershy earnestly apologized. "I-I didn't mean t-to make you feel bad. I'm sorry!"

Rainbow Dash sighed as much as her mending body would allow. "You don't have to keep apologizing, Fluttershy."

"B-but I feel awful," she muttered as she shrank away, despite the fact that Rainbow Dash wasn't even looking at her. As an uncomfortable silence set in, a thumping drew Fluttershy's attention down to Angel Bunny. The dinky bunny glared impatiently up at the yellow mare. Fluttershy shook her head in refusal, but Angel Bunny stood firm. He crossed his arms over his chest as he continued to glare at Fluttershy and tapped his oversized foot impatiently.

Fluttershy whimpered before she turned back to Rainbow Dash. "Um…Rainbow Dash?" she gently prodded. "I-there's something and it's been b-bothering me…" she trailed off. Another urging from Angel Bunny gave her the courage to continue. "A-actually, it's been…eating me up inside. Rainbow Dash… D-do you hate me?"

Rainbow's eyes grew wide as she struggled to roll over and face Fluttershy. "Wha-how can you even think that!?" Dash exclaimed as she struggled to sit up. A little push from Fluttershy got her there. "I don't hate you! You're my oldest friend, Fluttershy. I mean, we've been friends for as long as I can remember! I could never hate you."

"B-but I wasn't able to catch you… I-I just, I watched as you-you…" she trailed off.

"Fluttershy, even The Wonderbolts weren't fast enough to catch me," Rainbow Dash assured. "Unless...you weren't like, right there, were you?" she asked as she rubbed her head, still lamenting her shattered memory. "Still can't remember a thing about that day."

The shy mare shook her head. "Um, I was in the crowd with everypony else," she recalled. "B-but I… I could have done more. I should have."

"You've done more for me than anypony else," Dash reminded her. "You visited me every day in the hospital and you're putting me up here and everything. What more could you possibly do?"

"You don't…resent me for being able to fly when you can't?"

Rainbow Dash looked down as she exhaled deeply. "I…wouldn't say resent," she honestly answered. "I'm jealous, yeah. But I'm jealous of all the flying…things around here," she claimed as she motioned to the various birds and bugs flying about the critter-filled cottage. "I just wanna fly again."

"Oh, I'm sure that right now Twilight Sparkle is hard at work—"

"Surprise!" a collective shout announced the entry of Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, Spike, and Rarity. As soon as she got in the door, Pinkie fired her party cannon sending streamers and confetti all over Fluttershy's cottage. Inexplicably, it managed to land a cone-shaped party hat on every critter in the room as well as decorate everything. Twilight and Rarity used their magic to levitate an enormous cake in as Spike pulled in a wagon loaded down with snacks, punch, and party favors.

All four of the yellow mare's legs were sticking up as she lay flat on her back. "You okay there, Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash asked as she poked one of Fluttershy's hooves.

"Congrats on getting out of the hospital!" Pinkie Pie announced as Fluttershy recovered from her fright. "I made you a super-duper cake as soon as I heard!" she shouted as she pointed to the enormous confection. Before Rainbow Dash could even really take in the multi-layered cake, Pinkie shot over near a table. "And I made cupcakes, and punch, and there's fun and games, and I brought Gummy!" A turn of her head revealed the toothless alligator with its jaws wrapped around Pinkie's curls. "He _loves_ playing with all of Fluttershy's cute little animal friends!" In the blink of an eye the party pony was scooping up Rainbow Dash in her wheelchair. "So, do you like it!? Isn't it great!?"

Rainbow had a hard time keeping track of Pinkie Pie's eager, expectant expression with her bouncing and bounding about. "Yeah Pinkie," she assured with a small smile. "It's great."

"All right!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she threw her front hooves into the air. "Everypony party!"

* * *

Author's Notes - It would've been better if Pinkie had brought Snowflake along to go "YEEEEEAH!" there at the end.

I'm not totally happy with the Rainbow Dash/Fluttershy bit, but there will be a scene in the next chapter to two to make up for it.


	11. Blame

Wings of Friendship

* * *

Chapter 11  
Blame

* * *

Twin trails of storm clouds streaked across Ponyville's afternoon sky as two pegasi in blue and yellow uniforms flew over. One of the two mares sported a fiery mane while the other's mane was completely devoid of color. They were headed straight for Sweet Apple Acres.

"Fleetfoot, are you sure we shouldn't just go talk to the Princess first?" the first mare shouted over the sound of rushing air.

"Um, uh… Yeah, Captain! I-I mean I met one of the Apples before! He's—I mean—they're great!" Fleetfoot stumbled as she gave Spitfire a squeeworthy smile.

Spitfire rolled her eyes before veering down towards the orchard. An orange mare bucking a tree caught her eye and she led Fleetfoot down to her. The duo stirred up a cloud of dirt as they heavily landed in front of Applejack.

The blonde pony coughed as she swiped at the oppressive dust with her hat. Once the dirt settled enough for her make out the uninvited guests, her mood soured. "What in the hay do _you_ want?" she spat as she put her hat back on.

Spitfire cast an accusatory glance at a sheepish Fleetfoot before turning back to Applejack. "We came to pay Rainbow Dash a visit, but the hospital said that she was discharged already. They said you were there, so we came to ask you if you knew where she was."

"Y'all got _some_ nerve!" Applejack snapped as she poked Spitfire in the chest. "Haven't y'all done enough to Dash already!?"

"Excuse me?" Spitfire struggled to keep her cool as she swatted Applejack's hoof away.

"Y'all're the reason Rainbow Dash lost her wing!" the farm pony accused as she glared at Spitfire. "She got hurt in that competition'a yers just 'cause she was tryin' so danged hard to impress y'all. She always dreamed of being one'a y'all, but you were too blind to recognize that she was better than any of you!" By the time Applejack finished her terse rant, Spitfire and Fleetfoot both looked quite abashed. "Get off'a my farm," she ordered as she turned back to the tree she was apple bucking.

"Fine, we'll go," Spitfire allowed in as even a voice she could muster. "But first I need to ask you where—"

"AH SAID GET!" Applejack raged as she bucked the tree hard enough to crush the bark, leaving two hoofprints in the trunk.

Spitfire and Fleetfoot recoiled a bit from Applejack's impressive feat of strength. Although reluctantly, Spitfire spread her wings and took off as Fleetfoot followed suit.

"Yeah, the Apples are _great_," Spitfire spitefully accused Fleetfoot as she led the silver-maned pony away from the scary earth pony and towards the town's library.

"I don't see how his sister could be so…mean," Fleetfoot muttered.

After a trip to the vacant library, the two Wonderbolts were forced to resort to asking the ponies on the streets. Thankfully, it didn't take too long before a wall-eyed mare told them where to find Fluttershy's cottage. A short trip later and the costumed duo found the rustic cottage. Quite bizarrely, there seemed to be quite the ruckus coming from within. Spitfire didn't waste any time wondering about it as she rapped on the door with a hoof.

After a few seconds a yellow mare opened the door just a crack and peeked out. "Oh, um… Can I help you?"

"We were told we might be able to find Rainbow Dash here," Spitfire told the buttery mare.

"Y-yes," Fluttershy affirmed. "Rainbow Dash is here."

"Can we talk to her?" the white-maned Wonderbolt asked.

"In private," Spitfire added.

Fluttershy nodded as she ducked back into her cottage. A few seconds later Fluttershy reopened the door as she wheeled a reluctant Rainbow Dash out. The wheelchair-bound mare was more than a little ashamed to be in front of her heroes while she was in such a sorry state, especially considering she couldn't fly.

"C-Captain Spitifire, Fleetfoot," Rainbow Dash sputtered as Fluttershy retreated back into the cottage.

"I have to say: I'm impressed you got out of the hospital so quickly," Spitfire praised in an attempt to break the ice. When Rainbow didn't respond right away, she pointed a hoof. "Why don't we go somewhere a little more private?"

Rainbow nodded and Fleetfoot rolled her to a nearby tree that Spitfire guided them to. Sitting down, Spitfire sighed. "We're starting our training next week at the Cloudsdale Cloudiseum. Since we were nearby I thought I'd pay you a visit to see how…how you were doing. I was pretty surprised when your doctor told me you'd been discharged."

"I um…" Fleetfoot stammered as she walked around in front of Rainbow Dash. "Spitfire let me come along because…well, I wanted a chance to apologize to you face-to-face. I-I should have been faster. I'm so sorry I wasn't able to catch you in time. If only I was just a little faster…"

Spitfire silenced Fleetfoot by putting a hoof on her silver-maned pegasus's shoulder. Giving her a stern look, Spitfire nodded to Fleetfoot. Once Fleetfoot was calmed down, she hung her head. "I'm so sorry Rainbow Dash."

"No, I'm sure you tried your best," Rainbow absolved Fleetfoot. "Besides, it was my fault anyway."

Fleetfoot and Spitfire looked at each other before turning their eyes back to Rainbow Dash. "What do you mean by that?" Spitfire inquired.

"Well, I mean…I fell, right?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I um… I can't remember anything that happened that day."

Spitfire sighed angrily as she facehooved. "I can't believe they didn't tell you," she grumbled.

Rainbow Dash's eyes went wide. "What do you mean?"

"You didn't just fall," Spitfire informed Dash as she looked away. Celestia she really didn't want to have to be the pony to tell Rainbow Dash what happened to her. That doctor of hers was going to get one hay of an earful after this. "Do you know where this came from?" she asked as she pointed to the stitches on the side of Dash's head.

"It's from the fall, right?"

Spitfire shook her head. "You got that before you fell. It's what caused you to fall in the first place," she spoke with a bit of ire. "Somepony used the cover of the storm clouds to kick you hard enough to knock you out of the sky."

Rainbow Dash's mouth fell agape at the news. "Wh-wh-what?" she managed to choke out in disbelief.

"It wasn't your fault at all, Rainbow Dash," Fleetfoot assured. "I deserve some blame, but not you."

"Neither of you are to blame! It was all Lightning Dust's fault!" Spitfire snapped, letting her anger get the better of her. She breathed a few heavy breaths as she took in the shocked expressions of Fleetfoot and Rainbow Dash. _Well, hay_, she mentally kicked herself for her lack of tact in breaking the news to Dash. "Yeah," she sighed. "Lightning Dust kicked you in order to win the competition. She's the one to blame for your wing."

Rainbow Reached towards her lost wing, though her cast still prevented her hoof from reaching the stub itself. She was finding it a little hard to breathe as reality set in. Her emotions were fighting for dominance. On the one hoof, she was relieved that she wasn't responsible for her own suffering, but she also felt a deep resentment the likes of which she had never before experienced. The last time she saw Lightning Dust—that she could remember—was when she nearly caused her friends to fall to their doom. Now, now she was the one made to fall to her doom. Sure, she survived the fall, but it came at the cost of her wing.

"Wh-why?" Dash whispered as she teared up and her hoof slipped off her cast.

"Why did she do it? To win the competition," Spitfire stated. "That's not to say she didn't regret it. She _claims_ that she was sure somepony would catch you and, well, part of the reason we're here is that she wanted me to apologize to you in her stead."

"H-how can she do that!?" Dash shouted as her anger won out. "Doesn't she care about anypony else!?"

"Apparently not," Spitfire icily replied as she reached behind her wing before pulling out a couple of cards in her teeth. "The other reason we came out was to give you your prize," she explained as she set the passes in Rainbow's lap. "Lightning Dust was disqualified, that makes you the official winner of the competition." Rainbow just stared at the passes in her lap for several seconds before Spitfire spoke up again. "I know…it doesn't amount to anything considering what happened to you and all, but they are rightfully yours. If it's any consolation, you were a great flier. One of the best."

Rainbow Dash's anger melted away at Spitfire's praise. For years she had dreamed of Spitfire saying words very similar to those. Only with "are" in place of "were." The one little semantic change turned this situation from a dream come true into a living nightmare. The words pierced what was left of her hope and pride. She had what it took to be a Wonderbolt, but now she could never be one. Even Twilight said that her spell probably wasn't going to be able to let her fly like she could before.

As her anger and sorrow overflowed, Dash tried in vain to get her wheelchair to move only to discover that with only one foreleg she was stuck. "I-I-I just…I wanna go back inside! I wanna be alone!" she asserted as her voice cracked. More than anything she didn't want her heroes to see her crying, but she was unable to hold back anymore as the tears started to spill over.

"Take-take her back to the cottage!" Spitfire insisted as she turned away from Rainbow Dash. As Fleetfoot carted Dash away, Spitfire slammed one of her front hooves into the nearby tree with a frustrated grunt. A startled squirrel scurried out of the tree and towards the cottage drawing Spitfire's attention to Fleetfoot as she rolled Dash back inside.

_I'm so awful at this kind of thing,_ she kicked herself as she flopped down onto her rear. She had set out to try and cheer Dash up, but had succeeded in doing the exact opposite. It wasn't just that she felt bad for the pegasus, either. Had Rainbow Dash learned some teamwork and humility she could have been a spectacular Wonderbolt. It really was a horrible loss, and not just for Rainbow Dash.

The sound of wings beating air drew Spitfire's attention as Fleetfoot landed next to her. "Well, that was…uh…" the white-maned pegasus trailed off.

"Awful."

"Yeah, awful," Fleetfoot agreed the instant Spitfire admitted her fault.

"I think we've caused enough trouble for one day," Spitfire rose with a sigh as she spread her wings. "Let's get to Cloudsdale."

Back in Fluttershy's cottage the festivities had come to an abrupt end. Twilight, Pinkie, Spike, and Rarity sat in relative silence after Fluttershy carted Rainbow Dash to another room. The prismatic pony was more upset than any of them could remember, save Twilight who saw her the day she awoke after losing her wing.

"My goodness, that was…dramatic," Rarity finally spoke as she removed her party hat.

"What in Equestria could The Wonderbolts have told Rainbow Dash to make her so upset?" Twilight wondered aloud.

"Does this mean the party's over?" Pinkie asked as she sent a pleading look over to the rest.

"I guess so," Twilight replied as she, too, removed her cone-shaped hat.

Poor Pinkie Pie removed her hat as she looked like she was on the verge of tears. "But-but Dashie was just starting to cheer up! She ate cake and punch! We were playing a bunch of great games! She was smiling and Dashie even laughed! She was the front of the conga line!"

"It's not like she could've been anywhere else in the conga line," Spike pointed out the obvious while completely missing the point of Pinkie's rant.

"Rainbow Dash really did seem to be in _much_ better spirits until those Wonderbolts showed up," Rarity agreed with Pinkie.

Twilight nodded. "I concur, but…after that—whatever that was—I think Rainbow Dash might want to be alone for a while.

A pink mane poked into the room reluctantly followed by a timid face. "Um, I'm sorry everypony, but I-I don't think Rainbow Dash wants to party anymore."

"What happened?" Rarity asked as the group urged the yellow mare into the room.

"Oh, um…she really didn't say," Fluttershy mumbled. "But she did want to talk to you, Rarity."

Rarity looked around to the other ponies in the room before pressing a hoof to her chest. "Me?"

Fluttershy nodded.

"Not you or Twilight?"

Fluttershy shook her head.

Rarity drew a deep breath to psyche herself up before trotting towards the other room. "I'll do whatever I can to make her feel better!" Her confidence quickly faded as she stepped into the kitchen and found Rainbow Dash sitting there with her head hung low. When Dash didn't acknowledge her presence, she cleared her throat, "Rainbow Dash, um…Fluttershy said that you wanted to talk to me?"

When Rainbow lifted her head, Rarity clearly saw the matted fur on her cheeks and the red, bleariness of her eyes. "H-hey, Rarity," Dash spoke in a weak voice that clearly struggled to remain even. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Why of course, darling," the elegant unicorn eagerly volunteered. "Whatever you need, _Rarity_ can deliver!"

"Your little sister is really close to Scootaloo, right?" the cyan pegasus asked rhetorically as she held something out in her hoof. "Can you make sure Scootaloo gets these?"

Rarity used her aura to take the passes from Dash's hoof. "Consider it done," she assured as she took a moment to examine them. Before she could even begin to read them, an errant thought distracted her, eliciting a gasp. "Oh my goodness!"

Rainbow gave Rarity a quizzical look. "You're…excited about them?" she asked, her confusion eclipsing her more negative emotions for just a moment.

"Oh, these things? No. I have no idea what these are," Rarity dismissed as she motioned to the tickets. "I just remembered that I had promised to watch Sweetie Belle and her friends tonight. I got so caught up in you getting out of the hospital and the party—it just completely slipped my mind!" Rarity turned to leave, but stopped herself. "Silly me…was there anything you needed, darling?" she asked over her shoulder.

"No," Dash flatly replied. "Just…give them to Scootaloo."

As Rarity trotted back through, the awaiting group inundated her with questions. Since they all asked at once, it was impossible to make out a single word through the cacophony. "Easy girls!" she silenced them as she held up a hoof. "All she did was ask me to give these to Scootaloo," the purple-maned pony explained as she held up the tickets in front of her. "Some kind of passes of some sort."

"Couldsdale?" Twilight questioned as she studied the passes. "Did the Wonderbolts invite her to a show?"

"I don't know," Rarity admitted as she headed for the door. "As much as I would love to stay and chat, I absolutely have to go. I forgot that I was supposed to have Sweetie Belle and her friends tonight for a sleepover. If I don't get back to boutique before they do, I might not have a boutique to go back to!"

"Aww, don't say that!" Pinkie insisted. "I take care of the twins all the time and they might be a hassle, but it's not like they've ever destroyed anything like a bunch of stage props, a hardware store, Fluttershy's table, fancy gold fabric stuff, a gazebo, a designer sweater, a couple of floats, an entire town's reputation, a crafts tent at the fair, the art of cooking…"

"Um…Pinkie Pie?" Spike irately interrupted as he pointed at the wide-open door. "Rarity ran off in a panic around 'gazebo'."

"I said: 'it's not like'!" Pinkie uselessly shouted out the door after Rarity.

Twilight just rolled her eyes at Pinkie's antics. At least the party pony was taking the ruination of Dash's party better than expected. "Do you have any idea what those tickets were?" Twilight asked as she nudged Fluttershy.

"They…looked like the prizes for winning the competition," Fluttershy replied. "I, um…I don't actually know who won, but I thought it was going to be somepony else."

Twilight touched a hoof to chin as she contemplated the situation. "If Rainbow Dash won, then why would she give her prize away like that? Do you think it's because of whatever The Wonderbolts said?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "I don't know."

The purple pony sighed as she resigned. "Okay, just let us know if Rainbow Dash tells you anything," Twilight requested as she turned towards the door. "Come on, Spike. We should try to get some work done on those spells."

"I'll be back tomorrow to cheer Dashie up some more!" Pinkie announced as she followed Twilight.

"Take care," Fluttershy demurely called after her friends.

* * *

Author's Notes - Believe it not this chapter is short three scenes. Considering how long it is already I've decided to end it here and give the next few scenes their own chapter. It brings to mind something I probably should have rambled on about some time ago. Is it better to have short chapters so that the updates are more frequent, or is it better to have less frequent updates with longer chapters?


	12. Revelations

Wings of Friendship

* * *

Chapter 12  
Revelations

* * *

Rarity managed to get back to the Carousel Boutique from Fluttershy's cottage just as the Cutie Mark Crusaders arrived. The three fillies seemed happy and energetic despite being singed and covered in what appeared to be tree sap. The elegant pony made sure the tickets Rainbow Dash had given her were safely tucked out of sight before the troublesome trio noticed her. "Why hello girls!" she greeted them with a smile just as they got to her door.

"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle excitedly turned to her sister.

"Why don't you three get cleaned up before you go inside?" Rarity suggested as she got a good look at the muck covering the fillies. "I'll make you a snack."

"Aww, do we have'ta?" Apple Bloom whined.

Rarity's smile faded away as she motioned to the grime covering the trio. "I'm not having you girls track…_that_ through my beautiful boutique!"

The Cutie Mark Crusaders gave a collective "aww" as Rarity headed inside to make the promised snacks. Setting aside her things on the first available surface, she made a beeline for her bathroom. If she didn't hurry up and get some towels then three soaking-wet fillies would slop through her boutique. After setting out the towels near the entryway, she headed into her kitchen.

As she set to her task of preparing snacks for the girls, Rarity lamented her situation. Earlier she had eagerly agreed to watch the rambunctious fillies in hopes that she would be so busy that it would distract her from Rainbow Dash's plight. But already Twilight Sparkle had offered her an outlet for her worries by tasking her with fabricating some wings—no simple task considering she was a seamstress, not some sort of wing maker-er.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders would still have proven to be an amicable distraction had it not been for the task given to her by Rainbow Dash. Giving somepony a gift is normally a joyous occasion, but not this time. The fillies would undoubtedly ask about Rainbow Dash and what was going on with her and the truth was anything but joyous.

Sweetie Belle was likely the one to be most insulated. Rarity had only told her little sister that Dash was in the hospital and that "everything was going to be fine." It was a lie to shelter the filly from the truth. Her parents weren't much more informed than Sweetie Belle, so if a lot of uncomfortable questions come up, the little filly may well be in tears before the night was over.

Apple Bloom was more of a wild card than Sweetie Belle. Applejack knew just about as much about Rainbow's condition as she did, but how much she might've told her little sister is anypony's guess. However, the farmer tended to be exceedingly open and honest. Odds were that Apple Bloom knew more about what was going on than an innocent little filly had any business knowing.

Then there was Scootaloo. That filly looked up to Rainbow Dash as if she were her own sister. Anything she had heard probably came from Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. That was bad. Worse still was how she might react to the truth of the matter. Scootaloo adores Rainbow Dash. There is no way she would take the news well.

Rarity sighed as she floated a tray of cubed sandwiches organized as hors d'oeuvres over to her kitchen table. Maybe it would be best if she gave the tickets to Scootaloo in private. That way she would only have to deal with one distraught filly. Then again, somepony at some point would have to sit them down and explain to them what was going on. Rarity just hoped that she didn't have to be that somepony.

_WHAM!_

"Don't slam the door!" Rarity admonished loud enough to be heard over the chatter of the excited fillies as they burst into the boutique. "I set out towels for you by the door! Dry yourselves off before you come in!"

"Okay! Thanks sis!" Sweetie Belle's voice echoed through the boutique followed by a generic "thanks" from the other two fillies.

Using her aura, Rarity retrieved a few glasses and straws and set out juice for the fillies. "I've got snacks and drinks set out for you girls here in the kitchen! Now, I need to _try_ and get some work done, so I need you girls to behave yourselves for a little while! All right?"

"Okay!" a collective shout replied.

Judging from previous experience, if she got started right away she could work on a design for about ten to fifteen minutes. Then the girls would get bored which typically precedes disaster. Thankfully, they should give a cry of "Cutie Mark Crusader" followed by some sort of activity or profession. That would be her cue to intervene before something got destroyed, spontaneously combusted, or got ripped limb from limb. If she had any luck at all they would shout "Cutie Mark Crusader librarians!" or "Cutie Mark Crusader pillow testers!" or something benign like that. Then she could just ignore them and fashion a wing.

_Right_, Rarity dismissed the thought with a roll of her eyes. Those fillies could still make a huge mess of things no matter how benign their endeavors. The elegant pony gave chuckle as she headed for her studio. Maybe making a mess of things was their special talent. They certainly have a knack for it.

"Oh wow!" Scootaloo's voice screeched. "Rarity! Where'd you get these passes.

Rarity froze in place as her face contorted in horror. "Passes?" she breathed as her mind raced. Scootaloo didn't find Dash's gift, did she? That's when Rarity remembered where she had set them down at—right underneath the towels she laid out for the little ones. _How could I have been so foolish!?_ she kicked herself as she rushed back to the kitchen.

She made it to the kitchen just as Scootaloo came galumphing in alongside the other two Crusaders. All three of them looked a sight and had damp towels strewn across their shoulders. Scootaloo had the tickets in her mouth. The purple-maned pegasus placed the tickets on the table before pointing to them with a hoof. "Do you know what these are?"

"Honestly? Not really," Rarity admitted before motioning to the snacks. "Why don't you girls sit down and eat?"

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle eagerly followed the suggestion, but Scootaloo couldn't tear herself away from the tickets. "These passes say they'll let you into the Cloudsdale Cloudiseum next week! That's when The Wonderbolts will be there training!" she enthused.

"Sit," Rarity ordered as she used her aura to bring the tickets over to herself. Once Scootaloo sat down, Rarity sighed. "Now, Scootaloo, I received these tickets from Rainbow Dash. She asked me to give them to you specifically."

Scootaloo's eyes sparkled as Rarity floated the passes over to her. "Wow! Is Rainbow Dash going to take me to Cloudsdale!? That would be the _coolest_ thing ever!"

Rarity offered her a very uncomfortable smile. Rainbow Dash wasn't very clear about her intentions, but Rarity couldn't imagine she wanted to go to Cloudsdale and watch The Wonderbolts train. "I'm…not so sure Rainbow Dash will be able to go to Cloudsdale. She is still recovering from her, uh, accident."

Scootaloo whimpered as she looked at the passes in her hooves.

"Um…girls, how much do you know about what happened to Rainbow Dash?"

"You said that she got hurt and was in the hospital, but that she was going to be okay," Sweetie Belle claimed.

"That ain't what my sister said," Apple Bloom countered. "Applejack said that there was an accident and that Rainbow Dash lost one of her wings. She said Rainbow Dash'll never fly again."

"That's a lie!" Scootaloo angrily retorted as she buzzed in the air above her seat for a second before gravity won out.

Anger begot anger as Apple Bloom slammed her hooves on the table and glared at Scootaloo. "You callin' my sister a liar!?"

"Yeah!" Scootaloo shot back. "There's no way Rainbow Dash lost a wing. She wouldn't even have an accident!"

"She did too!" Apple Bloom asserted. "My sister's all kinds of sore about it! Says Ponyville's in a big heap of a mess 'cause nopony can take care of the weather like Rainbow Dash."

"Rainbow Dash just…got hurt! A little, maybe," Scootaloo reluctantly conceded. "There's nothing that can stop her!"

"A pond did!"

"Hey—!"

"Girls!" Rarity interrupted. Once the Crusaders fell silent and turned their gazes to Rarity, she sighed. "Apple Bloom…is mostly right."

Apple Bloom immediately pointed a hoof to Rarity. "See!?" she challenged as she glared at Scootaloo. "My sister ain't a liar!"

Rarity cleared her throat to get attention back to herself. "There was some sort of awful accident. Because of it Rainbow Dash was hurt very, very badly. She…lost her wing."

"That _can't_ be true!" Scootaloo practically begged. "It's impossible!"

"It's true, Scootaloo," Rarity gently said. "But that doesn't mean she won't fly again."

"Really?" Scootaloo asked as the tears that threatened to spill over receded.

"Right now Twilight Sparkle is working on a spell to replace Rainbow Dash's lost wing. She needs me to sew a suitable replacement for her," Rarity explained.

"Wow!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. "You're going to make her a new wing!?"

Rarity hesitated a moment before nodding. "In time, yes. First I need to perfect the art of fashioning wings. I'll need to do some practice wings first."

"When will Rainbow Dash be able to fly again?" Scootaloo pressed.

"Twilight Sparkle seems to think she can get everything together in less than a moon," Rarity recalled. Scootaloo just hung her head as she let out a whimper. "Well, why don't you three help me to design a wing once you finish your snacks?"

Scootaloo and the other Crusaders perked right up. "We could be Cutie Mark Crusader wing…wing maker-ers!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

"That'd be a cool cutie mark!" Apple Bloom agreed.

Scootaloo just smiled an uncomfortable smile, keeping her reservations to herself. It was unfathomable that the great and totally awesome Rainbow Dash could get hurt like that. She sighed as she looked to the tickets. Rainbow Dash wouldn't have given them to her if she wasn't going to take her, right? Even if Rainbow Dash was too hurt to really fly or anything it would still be awesome. She'd get to spend a whole week with her hero! Maybe she could impress her with her new moves! Scooting around Cloudsdale would be awesome!

As she started to brighten, Scootaloo started to get excited about helping Rarity. She could actually help make a wing for Rainbow Dash! Even if she had no idea what exactly that meant, it had to be pretty awesome, right?

"Yeah! Let's make her a wing!" Scootaloo cheered.

Rarity let out a sigh of relief. That went better than she had expected. At least nopony broke down and cried. Then again, these were fillies and more than willing to blindly believe her when she told them that Rainbow Dash's wing would be restored. Even Rarity herself wasn't totally sure if Twilight would be able to deliver what she had promised.

"Why don't you girls eat your snacks? You can join me in my studio when you're done," Rarity offered as she started out of the kitchen. "I could especially use some help from you, Scootaloo. I'll need some sort of model for the proper shape of a pegasus wing."

"Okay!" Scootaloo eagerly volunteered with a huge smile.

While Rarity juggled three fillies, Fluttershy was busy seeing to the needs of countless critters and one recuperating pegasus. The animals had been fed and taken care of for the evening, but Rainbow Dash was being rather difficult. Still, it wasn't anything Fluttershy couldn't handle. After all, it was pretty hard to find somepony more obstinate than Angel Bunny. The one-winged pegasus in the wheelchair could come pretty close, though.

"Please Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy cooed. "It'll make you feel so much better, I promise."

"No," Rainbow Dash refused as she turned her head away.

"You don't even have to do anything, and I'll be as gentle as a cute little butterfly," Fluttershy coaxed. "I'll make sure that it doesn't hurt even one bit."

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "It's not like I need it."

"But you do need it," Fluttershy urged. "Don't you want to feel better?"

"It would just be really awkward and a little gross and I just-I don't even think it'd make me feel any better, anyway," Rainbow Dash refused.

Fluttershy sighed before putting on her most endearing expression. "Please Rainbow Dash? For me?"

Dash let out a frustrated groan as she rolled her eyes. "Fine. Let's just get it over with," she relented.

"Oh goodie," Fluttershy smiled. "I'll just need you to lean forward a bit."

Rainbow sighed as she slouched forward in the wheelchair. "Go ahead."

Fluttershy pulled up a first-aid kit and placed it on a nearby table. "You're going to feel so much better in nice, clean bandages. You'll see," she assured as she popped the kit open and retrieved a pair of scissors.

"I'm supposed to go back to the hospital tomorrow. I'm sure they plan on changing them then," Rainbow Dash uselessly argued as Fluttershy cut away the old bandages.

"You don't need to worry," Fluttershy assured in a soothing voice as she gingerly pulled the old bandages away. "I do this sort of thing for my animal friends all the time."

"It's not like I'm scared," Dash groused. "It's just…embarrassing."

"Oh, you don't need to be embarrassed, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy encouraged. "It doesn't even look that bad. See? Your fur is already starting to grow back and you can hardly even notice those nasty, old stitches."

Rainbow scoffed. "See if you still say that when you see what-what's left of my wing…"

Fluttershy knew that she should reapply new bandages before moving on, but her curiosity got the better of her. "Oh, I wouldn't worry, Rainbow Dash. I'm sure it's not that bad," she softly said as she peeled back the gauze covering the gap in her cast. It revealed a tiny little nub—all that was left of her wing. It was stripped of its down and the small feathers were just barely starting to grow back, but, more alarmingly, the nub appeared to be quite red and swollen. "Oh my, that's not good."

"Told you so," Dash grumbled.

"Oh, it's not that," Fluttershy dismissed. "It looks like you have a teeny bit of infection here. We'll need to tell your doctor tomorrow, but until then I have a spray that will help," she suggested as she grabbed a small can from the first-aid kit. "This might sting just a little bit."

Rainbow Dash groaned. "I'm sure—augh!" she cried out as the icy mist contacted the mending wound, sending shockwaves of pain through her.

"I'm so sorry! Did that hurt?" Fluttershy fretted as she set the antiseptic aside.

"I'm fine!" Dash lied in an attempt to hide her weakness.

Fluttershy carefully reapplied gauze to the site before taping it in place. "The worst part is over," she cooed. "Angel, be a sweetie and help me with Rainbow Dash's bandages?"

The bunny sighed dramatically as he rolled his eyes. In spite of his silent protests, he hopped over to the two pegasi and perched himself atop the wheelchair. Fluttershy and Angel Bunny worked together to start wrapping Rainbow's torso. Fluttershy would pull the bandages across Dash's front before passing them to Angel. Angel would then pull them across Rainbow Dash's back and pass them back to Fluttershy again.

"It's not too tight, is it?" Fluttershy asked once the first few strips were in place.

"It's fine, Fluttershy," Dash replied.

The yellow mare sighed. Rainbow Dash wasn't even trying to have a conversation with her. She had hoped that the injured pegasus would come around on her own, but she was just being so stubborn! After passing the bandages off to Angel again, she spoke up, "Um…are you ready to talk about what happened this afternoon?"

"That's… Don't worry about it," Rainbow dismissed. "Nothing happened."

Fluttershy whimpered. "B-but…um, the tickets Rarity had—weren't they the prize for winning the competition? Did you win?"

"Technically," Rainbow Dash spat. "Just… Drop it!"

Fluttershy's ears tucked down at Dash's tone. "O-okay. I-I'm sorry."

Fluttershy fell silent as she continued her work with Angel Bunny. It didn't take long at all for the pathetic-looking, gentle-hearted, well-meaning pegasus to make Rainbow Dash feel absolutely awful for being so short with her. "Fluttershy, I…I didn't mean to snap at you like that. Sorry," she earnestly apologized. "I just don't want to talk about it, okay?"

Fluttershy smiled a bit as her ears slowly perked back up. "Oh, that's okay, Rainbow Dash. You can talk about it whenever you're ready to." Finally finished wrapping the bandages, Fluttershy held out the strip as Angel bounced over to the table, grabbed the scissors, and hopped into Dash's lap before cutting the outstretched strip. "There, all done," Fluttershy sweetly said after securing the bandages at Dash's side. "Now, don't you feel better?"

"Thanks, Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash muttered. Truth be told she didn't feel better at all, but she wasn't about to tell Fluttershy that. The caring pegasus was just desperate to try to help. Dash sighed as Fluttershy started to pack up the first-aid kit. "Hey, Fluttershy… Do you think Twilight can really get me a new wing with her magic?"

Fluttershy contemplated it a moment as she closed the kit. "Yes," she asserted before grabbing the handle in her mouth and flying over to a nearby closet. After putting the kit away and closing the door, she turned to find an expectant Rainbow Dash. "You know as well as anypony that Twilight Sparkle's magic is absolutely amazing," she asserted. "More importantly, I know she won't give up until she prevails."

"I guess…"

"Oh, don't be like that," Fluttershy gently chided as she pushed Rainbow Dash over near the couch. "Now let's get you all settled in so you can get your rest. I'm sure that after a day like today you must be exhausted."

Rainbow Dash groaned as Fluttershy helped her onto the couch. "I haven't even done anything today," she groused once she was on the couch.

Fluttershy flew into her kitchen before setting a glass of water on the end table next to the couch. Then she zipped into her closet and came out with pillows and blankets. Before Dash had so much as a chance to protest, Fluttershy plopped a pillow under her head and threw the blanket over her. She put a couple more pillows at Rainbow's sides to prop her up before dashing off again. Reappearing a moment later with a small bowl of cookies, Fluttershy placed it next to Rainbow's water. She then flew up the stairs.

"Fluttershy!" Dash yelled as the shy mare reappeared with her front hooves filled with stuffed animals. "I'm fine!" she assured as she struggled to move in her fluffy prison. Pointing a hoof towards the end of the couch, she continued, "If I need anything else I'm sure Tank can handle it." The tortoise lying next to the couch slowly nodded in response.

"Are you sure?" Fluttershy asked as she hugged the stuffed animals.

Rainbow Dash managed to roll over onto her side and away from Fluttershy causing a pillow to flop down off of the couch. "Good night, Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash replied, silencing the yellow pegasus's future protests.

"Good night, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy sighed as she dejectedly started to climb her stairs. "Oh! If you need anything just shout. I'll be right upstairs," she called down at Dash after putting the stuffed animals away.

Once she got to her room, she landed with a sigh. Rainbow Dash was being so reticent. Fluttershy couldn't help her friend if she didn't open up and talk about what was wrong. "I really wish Rainbow Dash would just tell me what's bothering her," she spoke to Angel Bunny as the critter bounced over to his little bed, right next to Fluttershy's. "I wonder what those Wonderbolts said to make her so upset," she mumbled as she pulled her covers back.

Before she had a chance to snuggle into her bed, she got an unexpected reply. A squirrel perched on the windowsill chattered in a language only squirrels, Fluttershy, and possibly other critters could understand.

"What do you mean you know what The Wonderbolts said to Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked as she walked over to the rodent. A bit more chattering elicited a gasp from the pink-maned mare. "You shouldn't eavesdrop!" she admonished. The squirrel crossed his arms over his chest and gave Fluttershy an impatient stare along with a few clicks. "Oh, no," Fluttershy whimpered as she withdrew a bit. "Please, tell me what happened." The tiny fuzzball sighed before chattering on. After a few seconds Fluttershy gasped as she covered her mouth with a hoof.

By the time the critter had relayed the story to Fluttershy, she was on the verge of tears. "Th-thank you, Mr. Squirrel," she muttered as she hung her head.

Seeing Fluttershy just standing there after hearing such shocking news worried Angel Bunny. He hopped up onto the bed and over to Fluttershy before gently patting her side. When the yellow pegasus looked up, Angel recoiled so violently that he tumbled back head over foot. Fluttershy's expression was something Angel had never seen from the kind pegasus: unbridled rage.

"How dare she?" Fluttershy growled in a tone that sent Angel cowering behind Fluttershy's pillow. "How _dare_ she do that to Rainbow Dash!?"

Fluttershy started to head downstairs to confront Rainbow Dash, but she stopped at the top of the steps as she took several deep breaths. Her righteous anger began to cool as her kind-heart began to make itself heard. Rainbow Dash obviously didn't want to talk about Lightning Dust, though Fluttershy couldn't understand why. Had she been in Dash's position she'd be crying as she told her friends all about it. But no, Dash had made it perfectly clear that she didn't want to talk about it. Fluttershy had already told her that she would wait for her to talk about it, too.

Resolving to leave Dash out of it and do things on her own, Fluttershy turned around and headed back into her bedroom. The first thing she did was look for her faithful pet. Finding him cowering on her bed, she spoke softly even though her expression remained harsh. "Angel, I'm going out. I need you to take care of Rainbow Dash for me, all right?"

The bunny nodded emphatically. He had no intentions of arguing with the normally docile pegasus. Right now she was more than a little scary.

With a bit of hesitation, she approached her window and spread her wings. She sent one last glance back at Angel. "I'll be back soon," she assured as she leapt out the window and took to the skies. Nothing was going to stop her from her destination, especially not her own trepidations. What Lightning Dust did to Rainbow Dash was absolutely unforgivable, and Fluttershy was going to make sure that Lightning Dust knew that.

It didn't take too long for Fluttershy to reach Cloudsdale. The hard part was finding where Lightning Dust lived, but find it she did. Fear dominated Fluttershy's face as she stood on Lightning Dust's stoop. Her anger was still alive in her heart, but it had cooled under time's withering presence. Summoning her courage, she adopted a stern, determined expression as she thumped on the door. After a few moments, nothing. Her anger filtered through to the surface once more as she slammed her hoof into the door demanding that those within respond. Still, nothing. Once more pounding on the door, she actually hit it a little too hard. The pillowy cloud door yielded to Fluttershy by falling apart into wisps of vapor as the yellow pegasus tumbled into Lightning Dust's home.

Sitting up and shaking her head, Fluttershy looked around as she wondered if she should leave or if she should seek out Lightning Dust. Just barging in like this was terribly rude, but Lightning was being incredibly rude, too. Why wasn't she answering the door? Sure it was late, but she still should have come to see after the second round of knocks. Deciding that it would be best to have a look around, Fluttershy got up and began to wander about Lightning Dust's house.

As she wandered through the house, she noticed that it hadn't been properly tended to. Clouds accumulated dust and water over time that made a damp, cold, and foggy atmosphere if they don't get properly taken care of every few days. Negligence leads to what Fluttershy was experiencing. The floors were squishy instead of fluffy. The ceiling was sagging as water condensed into an occasional drop, falling to the floor with a squelching sound. The walls seemed to have no clear beginning or end as they wisped out in a fog. It was actually a little scary.

_How can anypony let their home get into such a mess?_ Fluttershy wondered as she slowly searched the house for Lightning Dust. Everywhere she looked in the house was the same misty, cold, and creepy atmosphere. Finally, she came to what had to be Lightning Dust's bedroom. It was empty. Lightning Dust wasn't home. That's why she didn't open the door!

Suddenly feeling quite guilty about breaking into another pony's home, Fluttershy quickly headed for the exit. As she approached the doorway, however, she came to a dead stop as a pegasus stood there eyeing her critically. "Hey, you!" he shouted accusingly.

This pony might have expected her to run, but that wasn't how Fluttershy dealt with this sort of situation. The timid mare cowered as she tried to make herself invisible behind her pink locks. She made a little whimpering sound as she shook a bit.

"What do you think you're doing in here?" he admonished as he stepped inside and towards the shaking pegasus.

"I…I-I-I'm sorry," she muttered in a barely audible voice. As he approached, Fluttershy tried harder and harder to shrink into nothingness. She knew full well that she didn't have any business being in Lightning Dust's home uninvited. Now it looked like she was in big trouble. She tried to speak, but his stare seemed to paralyze her lungs.

He sighed at the pathetic bundle in front of him. The poor thing was actually crying. One thing was for sure, this wasn't the kind of behavior he expected from some vandal. The only other reason he could imagine somepony being there was somepony who just needed a roof over their head. Sighing, he reached down and nudged her side with his muzzle. "Come on, get out," he insisted.

Once they were out on the stoop, he tried to get her to speak again as he sat next to her on the steps. "I won't tell anypony if you don't," he assured. "If you need a place to stay, there's room at my place," he pointed a hoof to the house right next to Lightning Dust's.

"I-I'm sorry," Fluttershy mumbled again, this time loud enough for him to hear her, if only barely. "I just-I wanted to talk to Lightning Dust… I d-didn't know she wasn't home."

"You're not from around here, are you?"

Fluttershy shook her head as she kept her gaze away from his. "Well…I-I was born here, but I live in-in Ponyville."

He sighed again. "You came a long way for naught," he told her. "There's a bunch of different stories and I'm not sure which is true. Heh, I'm not sure any of them is true. All I know is that Lightning Dust hasn't been home in a week."

Fluttershy's jaw dropped. "She's…gone?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "The most common story I hear is that The Wonderbolts showed up and took off with her. They say she's going to be the newest Wonderbolt. I'm not so sure I believe them," he paused as he looked to the abandoned house. "She hasn't had anypony taking care of her house. Nopony's heard a word from her, either. Not so much as a letter. I don't know where she went or who took her there, but I'm pretty sure she isn't on her way to becoming a Wonderbolt."

"The Wonderbolts would never let her join—not after what she did," Fluttershy grumbled.

"What makes you say that?"

"O-oh, um…did I say that out loud?" she sheepishly asked as she blushed.

"I wouldn't call it 'loud', but you said it," he jokingly replied.

Fluttershy got up as she finally made eye contact with the other pegasus. "I-um… I should be going. I really shouldn't have come."

"Stay out of trouble," he encouraged as Fluttershy floated up off of the ground.

Fluttershy nodded her agreement as she flew off.

As Fluttershy headed home, her mind tried to make sense of the situation. Lightning Dust wasn't just absent from her home, she had apparently disappeared. If what that pony had said was true, Lightning Dust hadn't been seen since about the time of Rainbow Dash's accident. The rumor was that The Wonderbolts were involved, too. If she was going to get any answers, she would have to talk to Spitfire and the rest of The Wonderbolts. But they were full-fledged celebrities. How was she supposed to confront them about the situation?

* * *

Author's Notes - Sorry about the wait on this one. It's easily the longest chapter to date. I considered just posting the first scene with Rarity and the CMC as its own chapter, but I'd already promised three scenes in this chapter.

Mr. Squirrel's actual name? Chekhov. Incidentally, Fluttershy would make an _awesome_ spy. She has eyes and ears _everywhere!_

The pegasus OC is deliberately vague. Just imagine any pony you want there. I probably should have asked if any of my readers had an OC that could fill that role. I'll keep that in mind if another situation like that comes up.


	13. Complications

Wings of Friendship

* * *

Chapter 13  
Complications

* * *

"Get it off! Get it off! Get! It! Off!" a panicked Rarity shouted as she stared at the grotesque thing. A bent, elongated wing jutted out from her side and it uselessly flapped up and down against her will, slapping her back and belly.

"Hold still," Twilight Sparkle complained as she grabbed the offending object in her aura. She pulled on it until Rarity was completely off of the ground. Only then did the wing separate from Rarity, sending the unicorn ungraciously crashing to the floor.

Rarity pouted as she got up and rubbed the spot on her side where the offending object was attached. "I really don't think this is working out very well at all," she complained.

"Ah hate to say it, but Ah gotta agree with Rarity on this one, Twi," Applejack muttered. The orange pony had a green wing on one side and a red one on the other. Despite the wings flapping in a synchronous motion, she was anchored solidly to the ground.

Twilight whimpered as she used her magic to pluck Applejack's wings from her side and set them aside with the blue wing that was on Rarity. "So we have a few problems to work out," Twilight nervously claimed. "It's not…insurmountable."

"We cannot make them move without your magic to make them, they don't have any feathers, they certainly don't fly…" Rarity prattled on.

"They're floppy, they ain't shaped quite right, and they ain't got a lick of strength to 'em either," Applejack criticized.

Sighing heavily, Twilight struggled to remain optimistic. "I know there's a lot of work to be done. But if we break it down and take it problem by problem I'm sure we can find a solution."

"If y'all say so," Applejack resigned with a sigh and Rarity mourned the failure of her creations.

"I'm sorry," the pearly unicorn apologized as she stared at the stuffed wings she had sewn. "None of them are quite right, are they?"

Twilight offered Rarity an encouraging smile. "It's not your fault," she claimed. "I was hoping I could make the feathers with my magic, but all that came out was the little down feathers. But that's an easy fix, right? Don't you have feathers you can use, Rarity?"

Rarity nodded. "Yes, but…"she paused as she sighed. Rarity didn't want to admit her shortcomings, but this was really out of her league. "If you want something to look absolutely fabulous I can deliver to the letter," she asserted. "But you're asking for something to be…proper. I don't quite know how to put feathers on a wing like that."

Twilight frowned as she considered Rarity's words. "What you're saying is that you don't know how to make it anatomically correct?" she assumed. "Maybe Fluttershy could help you. She's pretty good at crafts and she should know as well as anypony how the feathers should be on a wing."

Rarity nodded. "That…might work," she agreed. "Perhaps she can assist me on the shape as well."

"Actually, I had a different plan for that," Twilight confidently claimed. "Spike should be out right now picking up some clay from the market."

"Clay?" Applejack asked.

Twilight nodded. "All we have to do is get a mold of Rainbow Dash's wing and we'll have a perfect model to make her a new one."

"Ohh," Rarity and Applejack breathed.

"Then we can refine the results and work out each problem until we have a wing that actually works," Twilight Sparkle touted her plan.

Rarity looked again to her failed creations. "So…then what was the point of making these?" she muttered.

Twilight felt a little bad at how downtrodden Rarity seemed over her apparent failure. "Well, you certainly helped identify a lot of the problems," she assured. "More importantly you showed that my magic has different effects on different materials." Walking over, she pointed to the different wings. "See? This one is already starting to tear apart, this one stretched out, and this one…this is the one that didn't have any down, right?" To test it, she blasted the wing with a ray of magic. It magically started flapping on the table, but it didn't have the essential down feathers. Another ray of magic purged the spell.

"So what yer sayin' is none of these are good enough?" Applejack asked.

The alicorn nodded while Rarity despairingly poked the wing just to make sure it wasn't going to flop around anymore. "I suppose I can try using every different fabric I have on hoof," she suggested, though she wasn't exactly ecstatic about the prospect.

"Ah don't mean to go and smash yer hopes, but this is Rainbow Dash we're talkin' about here," Applejack claimed. "Ah don't think any of Rarity's fancy fabrics can hold up to the kind of punishment Dash'd put 'em though. Should try makin' one out of somethin' more durable. A tarp or somethin'."

"I am _not_ going to go and make a wing out of some musty old tarp! It would be a crime against fashion!" Rarity refused.

Applejack sighed as she rolled her eyes. "This ain't about fashion! It's about function. It don't matter if it looks good if it's gonna fall apart while she's up in the air!" she asserted as she pointed a hoof into the air to emphasize her point.

Rarity's ears folded back as she lowered her head a bit. She hadn't considered the possibility of this wing failing midair. If she didn't do this job perfectly and make it out of a sturdy material, she could be responsible for another fall—maybe even a fatal one! She couldn't bear that thought.

"Tw-Twilight, do you really think this is a good idea?" Rarity backtracked. "What would happen if the wing really did rip midair?"

"It's not going to rip," Twilight assured. "Or…it shouldn't. My magic should be making the fabric more like skin than a woven material. It might get torn up, but it shouldn't completely fail."

"Hey!" Applejack drew attention to herself with a stamp of her hoof. "Dash needs to fly. It's in her blood and written on her flank. Even if it is more dangerous than her natural wing, it's worth it."

Rarity whimpered. Applejack certainly had a point, but the thought of her being responsible for Rainbow Dash's untimely demise did not sit well with her. "I…I'm going to go write a couple of letters," she claimed as she headed for Twilight's door. "The weavers in Canterlot or the Crystal Empire should be able to recommend the proper fabric."

Twilight Sparkle sighed as Rarity trotted out. "This…might be a little harder than I thought," the alicorn admitted.

"Hey, 'whatever it takes,' right?" Applejack nudged Twilight in an effort to perk her up.

"Yes…" Twilight Sparkle agreed. "Thank you, Applejack."

"No problem, Twi," the earth pony dismissed as she headed for the door. "If yah need anything else yah know where to find me," she said as she departed.

After Applejack left, Twilight turned back to the wings. "Feathers," she mumbled aloud as she fired up her horn. A purple ray shot out at the nearest wing. In a burst of magenta light, the wing vanished and all that remained in its place was a single pinion. She picked it up with a hoof wearing a somewhat irritated expression. Exasperated, she took a deep breath and blew the feather away. This was a lot harder than she had expected.

"Twilight! I'm back!" Spike announced as he entered the library dragging his wagon behind him with the lumpy mineral inside.

The purple pony sighed. "Hey Spike," she listlessly greeted. "Let's go to Fluttershy's."

"Wait, wasn't Rarity supposed to be here?" Spike asked as Twilight Sparkle passed him and headed out the door.

"You just missed her."

Spike groaned as he reluctantly followed after Twilight.

It took Twilight and the baby dragon a good ten minutes to get to Fluttershy's cottage. When they got there Angel Bunny let them in, but there weren't any signs of Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash. "Hello?" Twilight called out. "Fluttershy? Rainbow Dash?"

Angel Bunny shook his head. He pointed to the door and jumped up and down.

"Are you saying they left?" Spike asked.

The bunny nodded emphatically.

"Where did they go?" Twilight prodded.

Angel considered the question a moment before hopping over to the closet. He jumped up and grabbed the doorknob, deftly opening it. After disappearing into the closet, he reappeared struggling to drag out a white box. Once he was clear of the door he propped up the box to show the red cross on it. He emphatically pointed to it.

Twilight blinked a couple of times before what Angel was trying to say got through. "They went to the hospital!?"

Angel Bunny nodded.

Twilight wasted no time grabbing Spike in her aura and setting him on her back before sprinting towards the door. "Thanks Angel!" she called back as she dashed out the door. Before she even had a chance to start to panic, she spotted Fluttershy walking next to Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie was pushing Rainbow's wheelchair as they headed towards the cottage from down the path. She breathed a sigh of relief as she tried to calm her rapidly-beating heart.

By the time that the trio made it to Twilight, she was able to put on a smile. "You girls had me worried," the alicorn greeted. "We came here and you two were gone."

"Hey! Your cast's different!" Spike pointed at Dash's leg as he hopped off of Twilight's back. True enough, instead of her leg being straight out with a cumbersome cast, the cast was more petit and had her leg at an angle so that she could walk on her own.

"The doctors wanted to see Rainbow Dash today," Fluttershy explained. "They took the cast off and checked her over. She got her stitches removed, but her shoulder still needs to heal along with her leg."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "They discharged her from the hospital only to ask her back the very next day to do all of that?"

"Yeah," Dash said in a deadpan tone. "But at least I _should_ be able to walk on my own, now," she claimed as she sent a glare to Pinkie Pie.

"Hey! Don't look at me!" Pinkie defended herself as she pointed over to Fluttershy. "She said that your doctor said that you need to stay off of your hooves as much as possible. And you should listen to your doctor! Do you _want_ your leg to implode!?"

"It's not going to implode," Rainbow Dash groused. After a moment her confidence faded away. "It's not, is it?"

"No, but it's not good for you to exert yourself," Fluttershy chided. "If you push yourself too hard then it's just going to take that much longer for you to heal."

Twilight smiled as the group filed into Fluttershy's cottage. "I'm glad that everything is okay," the studious pony spoke her relief.

Once inside, Rainbow Dash seized her chance and lowered herself out of the wheelchair. "See?" she claimed as she hobbled along on three legs. "I'm fine."

Fluttershy sighed at Dash's bullheadedness. "Um…what brings you here, Twilight?" she asked as she did her best to ignore her frustrations about Rainbow Dash.

"Well, we hit a snag with my spell," Twilight admitted, instantly garnering Rainbow's attention. "Rarity is having trouble making a wing just right, so I had the idea of getting a mold of Rainbow Dash's wing to use as a model. You don't mind, do you Rainbow Dash?"

"N-no," Dash denied as her ears drooped. "It's um…everything else is working out, right? No other problems?"

Twilight adopted a nervous smile. "Oh, uh… Yeah, everything's going smoothly!" she lied. "It still needs a little work, but like I said before we'll have you back in the sky in a few weeks."

"Oh," Rainbow Dash said as she looked away. The look on her face told Twilight and everypony else that she was far from convinced.

"I'm sorry," Twilight muttered as she abandoned her fake smile and hung her head. "I'm trying my best Rainbow Dash, I really am."

"I know you are," Rainbow replied, still downtrodden. "But…is it really enough?"

Twilight sighed. "I…don't know," she truthfully replied. "But I'm not giving up! Spike! Bring the clay over here."

A little nudging from Twilight got Rainbow Dash over on the couch so that her wing extended out and away from the couch. Then Twilight worked with Spike to encase her wing in the clay. "Is there… I mean, if you can't find a way to make this magic of your work, is there another way to let me fly again."

Twilight hesitated a moment before responding, "Let's just focus on getting this work." Dash whimpered as Twilight used her magic to compress the clay before separating it away from Dash's wing into two halves. She then floated the two halves into the middle of the room. "Give it your best, Spike," she urged.

Drawing in a deep breath, Spike managed to exhale a green flame as large as the baby dragon, even if it only existed for a second. Insufficient to set the clay, he repeated the process over and over until he got dizzy. He finally fell over in a heap.

"Uh, take five, Spike," Twilight suggested as she gingerly set the molds into Spike's wagon. They weren't dry yet, but hopefully they would last long enough to get them into a kiln. In retrospect, she couldn't fathom why she thought that having Spike use his fire breath to harden it would be a good idea.

"So you're going to use this as a mold for a new wing for Dashie?" Pinkie asked as she peered into the wagon. "But how's that supposed to work? Isn't it the wrong one?"

Twilight stared blankly for a few moments before facehoofing. "Ugh…"

"What's wrong?" Fluttershy asked.

"It's the wrong wing," Twilight explained. "We need to make Rainbow Dash a right wing, this mold is her left wing." Foresight was definitely not her strong suit today. It made her wonder if she really was just grasping at straws at this point.

"Does it really matter?" Spike asked as he got up and rubbed his head. "Just turn it upside-down."

Twilight shook her head. "It doesn't work that way, Spike," she explained. "Wings are mirror-images of each other. It's impossible to replace a right wing with a left one." "Then just get the mirror version of this!" Pinkie suggested as she pointed into the wagon. "Problem solved!"

"It's not that easy," Twilight asserted. "I have no idea how to make an inverse mold. I suppose I could research techniques on how to…"

"Um… Where is Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked as she glanced about.

"…actually, come to think it I know I have that book. Spike, do you know where we put it?" Twilight prattled on.

The baby dragon shrugged.

"Rainbow Dash is gone!" Fluttershy fretted.

The other three stopped their conversation as they turned to the yellow pegasus. "What!?"

* * *

Author's Notes- Is it just me, or is Twilight turning stuffed wings into to flapping abominations a little...Frankenstein-y?

This chapter wasn't nearly as fun as the last one, but it had important plot elements and blah, blah, blah. Next chapter will be better...probably.


	14. Reconciliation

Wings of Friendship

* * *

Chapter 14  
Reconciliation

* * *

"Guh!" Rainbow Dash groaned as she struggled to get up onto her hooves. She'd landed on her injured shoulder that time. She gazed upwards once more to see the bottom of a sizable cloud—her home. Spreading her single remaining wing, she again leapt into the air as she wildly flapped her wing. She didn't get any higher than what her legs had propelled her. The flapping only served to maintain her altitude for a split second before she just starting twisting in the air and crashed back to the ground. This time, she landed flat on her back and knocked the wind out of herself.

That was her thirty-eighth attempt, though she'd stopped counting long ago. Her wounds and fatigue were starting to inhibit her efforts. A dozen attempts ago she got two, maybe three times as high. The pain in her chest and gut were becoming a hindrance, and her shoulder was becoming unbearably painful. But she wasn't about to give up. Twilight didn't seem to be getting anywhere with her magic and nopony else seemed interested in anything more than making her comfortable or feeling sorry for her. She couldn't stand that.

Pulling herself to her hooves once more, she looked skyward. She didn't need to be comfortable or happy. She certainly didn't need pity. She needed to fly. Jumping into the air again she tried to flap her wing, but this time it locked up. She came straight back down landing on her hooves before collapsing to the ground in pain. "Augh!" she cried out as she tried in vain to grab her strained wing with her hoof, but she couldn't reach.

After a couple of agonizing minutes, the pain in her wing was again outshone by her strained wounds that had yet to fully heal. With her pain at a manageable level she reluctantly sat up. There would be no more attempts to reach the sky today. She had failed. But at least she had tried, which was more than she could say for most of her friends. Why in Equestria did they accept the fact that she wasn't going to fly again? Why couldn't they be more like Twilight Sparkle and Rarity? Those were the only two doing anything at all for her. Well, as far as getting her airborne, anyway.

She had to admit that Fluttershy was doing a lot for her, and honestly she couldn't expect much else from the kindhearted pegasus. Pinkie Pie was trying to help in her own way, too. But she didn't need to be doted on like a sick foal or cheered up like…a sick foal. All she wanted to do was fly again. Why weren't half of her friends even trying to work on it? At least Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were doing _something_. Applejack pushed her to Fluttershy's cottage and she hadn't seen the farmer since.

Rainbow Dash sighed as she looked up towards her cloud home. She hated to admit it, but she wasn't going to get up there on her own. Already she had tried her very best, and she never even came close. That left her fate in Twilight's hooves. And that was not a reassuring thought. The studious alicorn already admitted that her magic might not be enough. Dash's own attempts were a miserable—and painful—failure. What else could there be?

Dash contemplated the matter for some time before the sound of hoofsteps finally tore her gaze away from her home. There she spotted Applejack walking towards her. She frowned and turned away as Applejack came to a stop in front of her.

"Ah had a feelin' that Ah might find yah here," Applejack stated as she took in the sight before her. Judging from the dirt, grass, and bruises covering her, Rainbow Dash had been out here beating herself up for some time. "Ah'll have yah know that you gave everypony a good scare, runnin' off like that without sayin' a word." Not receiving a warm welcome from the grumpy pony, Applejack looked up as she sighed. "Didn't quite make it up there on yer own, did yah?"

"It…it's impossible," she muttered.

"Ah certainly couldn't get up there," the earth pony replied before extending a hoof and a friendly smile. "Why don't Ah see yah back to Fluttershy's instead?"

Instead of taking Applejack's hoof, Dash got to her hooves on her own. Applejack seemed unfazed as she turned to lead the way. "What, you're not going to yell at me or insist on helping me?" Dash asked as she hobbled after Applejack.

"Ah'm sure yah only done what you felt yah needed to do. Can't nopony blame yah fer that," she replied. "And Ah know yah well enough that if'n yah need help you'll ask for it. Just tell somepony next time before yah take off like that. Ah know they'll respect your privacy if'n yah just ask fer it."

Finally somepony was treating her like she wanted to be treated…and it was making her furious. "You're not even going to ask if I'm okay or anything?"

"Ah know the answer to that question," Applejack claimed. "You ain't gonna be okay until Twilight finishes that spell'a her's. Ah'd'a carried you if'n yah needed it, but yer keepin' up just fine. Great fer somepony down a leg'n a wing."

"Don't you even care at all about me?" Dash accused.

And there it was: the end of Applejack's patience. In an instant her face was pressed against Rainbow Dash's. "How dare yah ask somethin' like that!? Of course Ah care! Ah've been worried sick about how yer doin' and how yer takin' this whole mess!" she yelled before calming down a bit and pointing over to Rainbow Dash's house. "There ain't nothin' Ah'd like to do more than to get yah up there, but Ah can't. There's nothin' Ah can do to get you back in the sky no matter how hard Ah try. Ah hate it. You hate it. Everypony hates it, but that's the way it is." Breathing the rest of her ire out with a sigh, she set back to walking down the path.

"That's uh…that's why Ah haven't been around to see yah as much Ah probably should," she sincerely confessed. "It-it hurts to see yah like this, sugarcube, knowin' there ain't a durn thing Ah can do tah help. Ah mean, Ah try to help Twilight with her magic spell, but there just ain't much Ah can do." She scoffed a bit at the notion. "Ah still say we should go make Discord change his mind."

"What? Discord?"

Applejack looked over her shoulder to see a baffled look on Rainbow's face. "Are yah tellin' me that nopony told you about Fluttershy goin' to Discord to ask him to fix yer wing."

Dash's mouth fell agape just before she stumbled and fell down. "Oww…" she muttered. As she looked up, she found Applejack's hoof waiting for her. This time she took it as the hardy pony yanked her to her hooves. "Fluttershy faced Discord…for me?"

Applejack nodded. "Ah can't believe nopony told yah," she said as she started walking a sluggish pace, this time side-by-side with Rainbow Dash. "When we heard yah lost yer wing we all tried to find a way to fix it. Apple Bloom and I went'a Zecora's. Ah actually got a little excited about it when Apple Bloom told me that Zecora once fixed a chipped tooth she got, but Zecora said a wing was way out'a her league."

"But, what about Discord?"

Applejack just shook her head a bit. "We all knew Discord definitely had the power to fix yer wing and Fluttershy volunteered to go ask him to help. But she said that she couldn't convince him to do it," she explained. "That's all Ah really know about all that. Though Ah also know that Twilight asked Princess Celestia if she knew any magic that could help; she didn't. Pinkie asked everypony she knew of, and that's pretty much everypony in town and then some. None of 'em had a lick of advice. Ah really can't believe nopony told yah about all this. Anyway, after all our ideas dried up Twilight came up with this plan'a her's to make a spell specifically to fix it."

Rainbow Dash pondered the implications a minute before her troubled mind set on the thing that mattered most to her right now. "How is that going? The spell I mean," she asked as she looked to Applejack. "Twilight doesn't seem to be too confident in herself."

Applejack sighed. "It ain't goin' well, that's fer sure. Ah was helpin' out Twilight earlier today and the wings Rarity made weren't good enough and neither was Twi's magic, but she still seemed to be optimistic about it. She's got a plan and she's determined not tah give up. Rarity's workin' on improvin' her end, too."

"Do you think Twilight will be able to make a wing that'll let me fly again?"

"Ah know she's got some amazing magic, no question, but so far Ah ain't seen anythin' that'd make me think you're gonna fly any time soon," she admitted. "That's why Ah say we need to focus on Discord. He can definitely fix you a new wing. We just gotta convince him to do it!"

Rainbow Dash sighed. Applejack confirmed her fears about Twilight, but at least now she had a lot more insight on just how far her friends were going for her. She felt bad about assuming that her friends had just accepted her predicament. From what Applejack said it seemed like they really tried everything in their power to get her wing back. That fact made her feel both better and worse. Her friends were really trying, but even they couldn't fix her wing.

"Oh! Rainbow Dash!"

Looking up, Applejack and Dash spied Fluttershy floating down. "Hey sugarcube," Applejack greeted as she motioned to Rainbow Dash. "Ah found 'er safe 'n' sound. Was just headed yer way."

"Thank goodness," she breathed a sigh of relief as she landed in front of the duo. "I was so worried."

"Fluttershy, why didn't you tell me you faced Discord to try and get my wing back?" she asked as the trio started walking again at a lazy pace.

"W-well I couldn't convince him to help, s-so, I just…" the timid pegasus mumbled as her voice got so low and her words so disjointed that it was unintelligible.

Dash sighed at Fluttershy's trepidation. "It's the fact that you tried that counts, Fluttershy. You should have said something earlier. I had no idea you girls tried so hard to fix my wing.

Fluttershy blushed as she hid behind her mane. "I, um…b-but it really wasn't anything special," she claimed. "And nopony could fix your poor wing." She turned to see that Rainbow Dash was struggling to keep up even at their glacial pace. "Um… Do you want me to go get the wheelchair and bring it back here?"

"I'm fine," Dash grunted as she forced a smile. Truth be told her stunt left her feeling not much better than the day she woke up in the hospital. Every step jolted her shoulder, eliciting a burning pain.

"Sugarcube, you ain't got a thing to prove to anypony," Applejack insisted. "Let's take a break while Fluttershy gets that wheelchair."

Surprisingly Dash didn't protest. She just sighed heavily as she sat down. Only after Fluttershy took off did Rainbow sit back on her haunches so that she could place her hoof on her injured shoulder.

"Ah know yah can get there on yer own, but Ah'd rather get there before nightfall." Applejack explained her insistence that Fluttershy bring the chair.

Rainbow Dash nodded as she glanced over to the farmer. "I might've overdone it…a little."

"How's the rest of yah holdin' up?" the orange pony asked.

Dash sent Applejack a quizzical look. "Aside from my shoulder? Fine," she claimed.

"No, Ah mean…" Applejack started before sighing. "You know we're gonna get yer wing back, right? You ain't gonna be stuck here on the ground with me for too much longer. We'll figure somethin' out."

"Everypony keeps saying that," Rainbow Dash muttered as her hoof traced slightly over to the spot where her wing once was, "but how do you know that? You said it yourself that Twilight's spell wasn't going anywhere."

Applejack pondered it for a moment before responding. "Because that's what Ah believe," she bluntly replied. "It don't matter if Twilight gets it right or not. If that fails then we'll try somethin' different still. We ain't gonna give up on yah, sugarcube. Even if yah don't believe in yerself or in Twilight's spell, you can still believe in us, right? We're yer friends and we ain't about to stand idly by as long as yer sufferin'."

"I've, uh…I've been acting pretty stupid these last few days, huh?"

"Yup!"

Dash sighed heavily as she put her front hoof back on the ground. "Well, if you wanna get me back to Fluttershy's before dark we should get going," she said as she began to hobble down the path.

"Tell yah what, RD," Applejack offered as she started to walk next to Dash, "As soon as yer all healed up we'll have us another Iron Pony competition."

"You're on!" Rainbow accepted the challenge with a grin.

The duo walked on for a short time before Fluttershy appeared running towards them. Twilight Sparkle was on her left and Pinkie Pie was on her right carrying the folded-up wheelchair on her back. As the group approached, Pinkie stopped on her front hooves as she bucked her flank up, sending the wheelchair flying at Rainbow Dash. It popped open midflight and somehow managed to properly scoop the pegasus up.

"Rainbow Dash! I'm sooo glad to you're okay!" Pinkie enthused as Dash tried to reorient herself and figure out how she ended up in the wheelchair. "You had us sooo worried! We were there talking and Fluttershy was all like: 'where's Rainbow Dash?' And we were like: 'what!?' And then we looked and looked and couldn't find you anywhere!" As she reached the end of her enthusiastic story she hugged the rainbow pony.

"Uh…yeah," Rainbow Dash started to apologize as she pried the pink pony off of herself. "I'm sorry about that, everypony. I was just… I was being selfish."

"We're just glad you're all right," Twilight earnestly asserted as Applejack got behind the wheelchair and started pushing. After taking a second glance at the dirty, bruised pegasus she amended her statement, "You are all right… Right?"

Dash nodded. "Nothing Fluttershy here can't cure," she claimed as she pointed to the shy mare.

"Oh… Yes," Fluttershy replied. Drumming up her courage, she prodded Dash about the thing most plaguing her mind. "Um… Are you ready to talk about what The Wonderbolts said yesterday?"

"No," Rainbow Dash immediately and harshly denied, but after a moment, she sighed. "You know what, fine," she allowed. "What got to me was what Captain Spitfire said. She said that…that I really had what it took to be a Wonderbolt. If _this_ didn't happen," she said as she put her hoof where her wing was torn off, "I really could have been a Wonderbolt. I _would_ have been Wonderbolt, someday."

Everypony fell into an awkward silence as Rainbow lamented her lot. Finally, Applejack spoke up, "Well, you ain't givin' up on that just yet are yah, sugarcube? Yah still got what it takes, Ah know that. Yah just need a replacement fer yer wing. That's all."

"Yeah!" Pinkie enthusiastically agreed. "We all still believe in you!"

Twilight nodded. "Speaking of which, I really should be working on developing that spell. Want to give me a hoof, Pinkie?"

"Sure! I bet I'll be tons of fun!" Pinkie Pie bounced over as the two ponies walked down an adjacent path, waving their goodbyes.

Unnoticed by the other four was Fluttershy who was hanging her head. She was glad that Dash was being more forthright, but why didn't' she mention Lightning Dust? That was by far the most important part. After all, everypony in Ponyville already knew she had what it took to be a Wonderbolt. That wasn't news. Lightning Dust _kicking_ Rainbow Dash in the head and making her loose her wing—_that _was news.

"Fluttershy, you doin' okay there?" Applejack prodded as she noticed the angry look on the normally demure pony's face.

"Oh!" Fluttershy blushed as she put on a convincing smile. "It's…uh, nothing," she assured in a not-very-assuring tone.

"If'n you say so," Applejack allowed.

Rainbow Dash didn't pay them much mind as she stared up into the sky. She wasn't going to get back up there on her own. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but after today she just had to accept it. Despite her strength and determination, this was just something she couldn't do on her own. Instead she had to rely on her friends to get back to some sort of normalcy. To feel the breeze in her mane and to see the world from above… The sky really was where she belonged. Finally tearing her gaze from the sky, she longingly sighed as she placed a hoof over the spot where her wing once was. _I will fly again._

* * *

Author's Notes - Apologies for the longer-than-usual delay. My computer has been...difficult. Anywho, next chapter should be ready before too awful long. Stay tuned for excitement, drama, and danger!

A special thanks to Luinlothana whose insights helped shape this chapter. It has the same overall purpose, but achieves it in a less...extreme manner.


	15. Pyrokinesis

Wings of Friendship

* * *

Chapter 15  
Pyrokinesis

* * *

Deep within the foreboding and dangerous Everfree Forest, three ponies trekked through the thick foliage. A saddlebag-toting Pinkie Pie led Twilight and Fluttershy into a familiar part of the dangerous forest. Rattling around in her saddlebags were the two molds of Rainbow Dash's wing.

"Oh, do you really think this will work?" Fluttershy meekly asked as a bit of rustling caused her to cower against Twilight.

"It's a fascinating idea Pinkie Pie came up with," Twilight replied. "It's at the very least worth trying."

"It'll definitely work!" Pinkie asserted. "We need to get the mirror image of these," she claimed as she wiggled her hips, causing the fired clay molds to shake in the oversized saddlebags. "Of course the only way to make a mirror image of somepony is the magic mirror pond! It should work for these, too!"

"O-okay," Fluttershy mumbled.

Twilight giggled a bit at how frightened Fluttershy seemed to be. "Why are you so nervous?" she jovially asked in an attempt to assuage whatever fear was plaguing the shy pony. "Don't you come here often for your animal friends?"

"Well, yes," the yellow mare meekly replied. "But something is wrong. Very wrong. I don't hear any birds singing, and we have yet to see a single squirrel or bunny or anything else."

Hesitating at what amounted to genuine warning signs, Twilight looked around for some reassurance. She found it in a nearby, flitting insect. "I'm sure it's just kind of coincidence," she assured as the bug glowed a soft, red hue. "See? This firefly isn't at all worried." Initially pointing to it, she held her hoof out in hopes of coaxing the cute bug into landing on it. Again its abdomen flashed as it drew near to Twilight's outstretched leg.

Pinkie breathed in an exaggerated gasp as she saw the red flash. "Don't touch it!" she warned as she tackled Twilight to the ground just before the insect had a chance to contact Twilight's hoof. The two halves of the mold went flying in the air, but Fluttershy managed to catch them.

"Ugh, Pinkie!" Twilight groaned as she shoved the pink pony off of herself. "What was that for!?"

"I don't think that was a firefly! It looked like a _pyre_fly!" she explained. "You never-ever-ever-ever touch a pyrefly!"

"Why not?" Twilight earnestly inquired as Fluttershy dumped the molds back into Pinkie's saddlebags.

Just then, the cute, little bug landed on the very tip of a leaf on an outstretched branch of an enormous tree.

_FWOOSH!_

A sudden, searing wind blew back the trio's manes and nearly knocked them off of their hooves as a yellow-orange light illuminated their faces. After just a second or two all that was left of the tree was a pile of glowing cinders. The adorable, little bug snuggled down into the ashes as it made a cute cooing sound, causing Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle to recoil in horror.

"That's why!" Pinkie smiled as she pointed at the adorable little bug that just incinerated an entire tree in the blink of an eye.

_WOOSH!_

_FWOOSH!_

Turning back the way they came, several pillars of fire marked a horrifying backdrop to dozens—no, hundreds of blinking red lights. Through the trees and bramble even more red lights winked at them. As a grey smoke wafted over the trio, Twilight began to panic.

"We're surrounded!" she stated the obvious as she stepped back until her flank met Pinkie's and Fluttershy's. Fluttershy may well have been screaming in horror, but the pegasus' normally quiet voice would have been entirely drowned out by the growing din caused by the roaring flames.

"Hey! Over there!" Pinkie pointed a hoof at half a boulder sticking out of the ground.

Following Pinkie's cue, Twilight used her magic to lift the rock—or at least she tried. The heavy rock seemed to be wedged into the ground. Redoubling her efforts, the rock budged slightly before rising out of the ground and tumbling away from the entrance. "Go! Go! Go!"

Following Twilight's instruction, Fluttershy fled into the hole and Pinkie playfully jumped in after her. Twilight kept the boulder in her aura as she dove in. As she tumbled haphazardly into the tunnel she could barely muster the concentration to drag the boulder over the entrance. It sealed them in and the adorably terrifying pyreflies out.

As she tumbled out of the winding tunnel, she landed flat on her face. Sitting up and shaking her head, she scrambled to find her friends. "Everypony okay?" she asked as she found Pinkie and Fluttershy waiting for her.

"Is it safe?" Fluttershy worriedly asked.

"I-I think so," Twilight said as she looked back to the tunnel. "I blocked the path with a rock. Will that stop them?"

"Hmm?" Pinkie tilted her head a bit. "Why are you looking at me?"

Pinkie's words prompted Twilight to put up a force field at the end of the tunnel. "You seem to be the only pony that knows what those things are, Pinkie," Twilight pointed out. "You don't know if they can liquefy that boulder or anything? Do you at least know how long they'll be up there?"

Pinkie shook her head. "All I know is an old rhyme my Nana Pinkie used to say:"

"Beware of the swarms of winking red,  
in the forest the pyreflies bring forth dread!  
A single touch brings a fiery pillar,  
to bring their nest made of glowing cinder."

"Nest?" Twilight pondered. "Please tell me this isn't some sort of breeding season. Who knows how long they might be out there!?"

"Um, I've lived near the Everfree Forest for years," Fluttershy spoke up. "I've never seen anything like that. It was sooo scary."

Twilight sighed as she looked over to her barrier. There didn't seem to be any flitting fire-starters lurking on the other side. "We might be confined here for some time. Pinkie, why don't you attempt to clone those molds?"

"Okie dokie lokie!" the pink pony smiled as she trotted over to the still waters.

"And into her own reflection she stared,  
yearning for one whose reflection she shared.  
And solemnly sweared not to be scared,  
at the prospect of being doubly mared!"

To Twilight's amazement, a Pinkie Pie clone rose from the water as Pinkie hoofed her doppelganger up onto the shore. Tantalizingly, the clone also sported saddlebags with molds. Not wasting any time, Twilight floated all four pieces in front of her. A cursory glance elicited a smile as she jumped about excitedly. "It worked! It worked!"

"What worked? Ooooh! What're these!?" Pinkie eagerly joined in the excitement as she poked one of the molds. "Did you make them with your magic?" She suddenly gasped as she took one of Twilight's wing in her hoof. "You're an _alicorn_! Does that mean you're a princess!?"

Twilight sighed as she put the molds aside. "I can't help but to suspect that you aren't the original," she said as she grabbed her saddleback and removed it. She didn't think to bring an extra saddlebag to carry back the cloned version. "Sorry, but one Pinkie Pie is more than enough for all of Ponyville." Summoning her magic, she dispelled the doppelganger and banished it back into the pond. Sighing, she lied down as she sent a magenta orb of magic to reapply the barrier spell. "You two may want to consider getting comfortable. It's far too dangerous to try and venture out with those fire bugs swarming about."

Pinkie giggled as she rejoined the duo. "Hey, that rhymed!" she noted in a sing-song manner. "Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! If we're gonna be stuck here for a while you know what would be super-duper fun!? We should try to come up with new songs!"

"No!" Twilight quickly denied, not having any appetite for Pinkie Pie's antics. Seeing the immediate disappointment in Pinkie's face, she struggled to come up with a reason that wouldn't hurt the party pony's feelings. "It, um… Oh! These pyreflies, or whatever they are, might be like parasprites! We can't risk attracting them with music, can we?"

"Hnng, I guess not," Pinkie grumbled as she flopped down on her rear.

"Twilight, do you really think this will work?" Fluttershy asked as she studied the fired clay.

"You mean my spell for Rainbow Dash's wing?" Twilight clarified the abstract question. A lack of a correction from Fluttershy told Twilight that she had guessed correctly. "Well, I certainly hope so. It's, admittedly, not going very well so far, but hopefully this mold will help solve one of the big problems."

Fluttershy let out a tiny sigh before turning to the alicorn. "Um… If your spell doesn't work… I mean…" she stopped and looked down as she reorganized her thoughts. "The problem with your spell is turning a fake wing into a real one, right?"

Twilight nodded a bit as she stared questioningly at Fluttershy. "That's…probably the most formidable obstacle, yes."

"W-well what if you started with-with a real wing? Fluttershy asked as she peeked at Twilight through her mane. "W-would…my wing work?" she offered as she held up her right wing.

"Wh-what!?" Twilight balked. "Fluttershy, nopony could ask you to do that!"

"They don't need to," the yellow pegasus denied. "I volunteer. I-I mean, I like my wings, but being high up scares me. I don't…need them to be happy."

Twilight stood up before walking over to Fluttershy and wrapping a leg around her. "I know how you feel," she sympathized. "I thought about using my own, but these things are a far cry from pegasus wings," the alicorn extended a wing for emphasis. "But…do you really think Rainbow Dash would be happy with a wing if it meant taking one away from one of her friends?"

Fluttershy whimpered a bit as she lowered her head. That's when an idea struck her. "Wh-what if it came from a horrible pony?" she asked as she successfully hid her expression from Twilight and Pinkie. "A mean brute that doesn't deserve her wings?"

"F-Fluttershy, I, um… I don't think that this is a very healthy train of thought. Let's just focus on getting Rainbow Dash a new wing without taking it from somepony else," Twilight suggested. Fluttershy just fell into silence.

_Tink!_

_Tink! Tink!_

At first the sound didn't register with anypony, but as it got more fervent Twilight looked up to see several pyreflies crashing into her force field like so many flies trying to escape through a closed window. "They got through!"

_Tink! Tink! Tink! Tink!_

Buzzing around haphazardly, the pyreflies occasionally landed on the sides of the tunnel. Their touch would cause a mini-geyser of molten material to shoot out. They sometimes investigated the searing remains, but the lack of cinders caused them to make an annoyed sound before trying to get through the shield again.

"They can't get through your barrier, can they?" Fluttershy fretted.

Twilight shook her head, "I don't think so, but there's another problem. Look: they're vaporizing the tunnel walls! If this keeps up it will collapse!"

"Yay!" Pinkie jumped up excitedly. "That'll bury the pyreflies alive! All our problems will fix themselves!"

"Pinkie, that tunnel is our only way out. If it collapses _we'll_ be buried alive!" Twilight admonished.

"Ohhh," Pinkie voiced her understanding.

Before Twilight could reply, a deep rumbling preceded a violent shaking. Debris fell from the ceiling as Pinkie and Twilight struggled to stay standing. Fluttershy was already lying down and covering her head with her hooves as she cowered and whimpered. Just as suddenly as it started, it stopped.

"Everypony okay?" Twilight asked as she checked herself over.

"A-okay!" Pinkie Pie asserted.

Fluttershy kept her head covered as she nodded, "I-I-I think so. Wh-what was that?"

"Destabilization of the structure, likely due to the…pyreflies…" Twilight trailed off as she turned to observe the destructive insects. Her barrier was still there, but behind it was a solid wall! The tunnel had collapsed! "We're trapped!"

"No we're not!" Pinkie claimed as she pointed up to the source of the light shining down. "That _has_ to be a way out, right?"

Twilight nodded as she felt like an idiot. Worse still it was Pinkie that made her feel so stupid. "Okay, we just…need to get up there," the studious pony looked over to the still-cowering pegasus. "Fluttershy, can you fly up there and see if there is a way out?"

Fluttershy whimpered as she slowly got up onto shaky legs. "B-but what if…_those_ are up there?" she hesitated.

Twilight pondered the implication a moment before responding, "Well, then there's nothing stopping them from getting in. If you see a way out you can go fly for help or at least tell me that they're out there so I can put a force field up there."

"O-o-okay," Fluttershy agreed as she took flight. She slowly rose towards the center of the room towards the soft blue light. She entered the small opening and less than two seconds later she stuck her head back into the main chamber. "It's a dead end!"

"What do you mean a dead end?" Twilight shouted up at Fluttershy. "That light has to be coming from somewhere!"

"Well, it is… There's a big, glowing crystal up here. It's beautiful!"

Twilight sighed as she hung her head. "Well, all right, you can come back down… We'll just…have to find another way out."

"But, how?" Fluttershy asked as she landed next to the alicorn.

"I'm not sure, give me a moment to think," she muttered as she tried to think of a way out of this situation.

Just then, another rumbling nearly caused the trio to fall over again.

"Wh-a-a-a-t's go-o-o-o-i-i-i-ng o-o-o-o-n?" Pinkie asked as her voice vibrated along with the ground.

"The tunnel collapse may have disrupted the stability of the entire cavern!" Twilight warned as the shaking started to subside.

"What?"

"The whole cavern might come crashing down on us!" Twilight reiterated.

A loud crack heralded part of the ceiling caving in. A huge mass above the pond fell, sending an enormous, glowing crystal crashing into the mirror pond. Once the dust and debris settled, the crystal slowly sunk beneath the surface. The light emanating throughout the cavern evanesced until all that remained was inky blackness.

* * *

Author's Notes - A cliffhanger? Now that's no way to end a chapter. Tell you what, I'll give a little spoiler about the next chapter as penance. The next chapter has absolutely nothing to do with Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, or Pinkie Pie. Instead it stars Applejack and Rarity.

Incidentally, I find it hilarious to take the line, "The adorable, little bug snuggled down into the ashes as it made a cute cooing sound, causing Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle to recoil in horror" out of context. It's just so absurd without context.

I really wanted Pinkie Pie to have a song, because...well, that's what Pinkie Pie does. Alas, I lack that sort of artistic creativity. It was hard enough just coming up with four lines for the rhyme. I don't envy whoever has to write the lines for Zecora. Speaking of those rhymes, I had no idea what the standard format for those is. If I got it right, yay! Otherwise I suppose I could go back and fix it to match whatever the format is supposed to be.


	16. Gleam and Grime

Wings of Friendship

* * *

Chapter 16  
Gleam and Grime

* * *

Applejack let herself into the Carousel Boutique. It didn't take her long to find the pearly unicorn consumed with the seemingly arbitrary task of comparing two fabrics. "Howdy Rarity, yah wanted me to stop by?"

"Oh, Applejack, darling," Rarity eagerly greeted. "I have wonderful news."

"Go on," Applejack urged.

"Why, just this morning Derpy delivered letters to me from Canterlot and the Crystal Empire," Rarity explained as she set the fabric aside and removed her work glasses.

"Derpy's back in town?"

Rarity considered it a moment with a touch of puzzlement in her expression. "It is odd that she disappears from time to time, isn't it? What makes it so juicy is that Doctor fellow always seems to vanish around the same time. Talk about scandalous!" she gushed about the fresh gossip. Seeing that Applejack wasn't at all interested, she dismissed it with a wave of her hoof. "Anyway, one of the letters I received from the Crystal Empire described the _perfect_ material for Rainbow Dash's wing."

"Perfect, huh?" the farmer pony asked as she adjusted her hat. "Ah think Ah'll be the judge'a that. Like Ah said before: above all it's gotta be sturdy."

"Applejack, this cloth not only shimmers marvelously, it makes your tarps seem as fragile as a wet tissue," Rarity haughtily claimed. "It's a Crystal Empire _exclusive!_" she enthused. "Only one pony in all of Equestria makes it. It's called 'crystalline cloth' and it is made from actual gemstones!"

Applejack cast a doubtful gaze at Rarity. "Gemstones? Like the ones yah use in yer dresses? How the hay do yah turn that into fabric? And wouldn't it be heavy 'n' brittle?"

"Well, there are a few issues with it," Rarity admitted. "It _is_ heavy, and not very flexible. The letter actually said that it was nearly impossible to work with, but it's not at all brittle. Somehow this weaver makes the crystals into threads and weaves them into nearly-indestructible cloth that shimmers in the light with beautiful reds, and greens, and blues, and yellows…"

"Yeah, yeah. It's pretty, Ah get that," Applejack dismissed. "It's just…aww, never mind. Yer the expert when it comes to this sort'a thing. If you say it's the best material, Ah believe yah. Now what did yah need from me, sugarcube?"

"That, well…" Rarity started before sighing. "Like I said before, this cloth is _exclusive_. That means it is not only rare, it is expensive. Since the weaver uses gems to make the cloth, I hope to trade her gemstones for some of the crystalline cloth."

Applejack rolled her eyes. She knew where this was going. "Let me guess, you need somepony to help yah get a bunch'a gemstones."

Rarity put on a squeeworthy smile. "It's not for me, it's for Rainbow Dash."

With a sigh and a shake of her head, she assuaged Rarity's trepidation. "Ah'd give yah a hoof either way. Ah know yah'd do the same for me…well, so long as it didn't involve yah gettin' dirty," Applejack joked.

"Let's meet on the edge of town in, say, an hour?" Rarity suggested. "I do need time to get ready, and I plan on asking Spikey-Wikey if he could help out as well."

"Ah'll bring one'a our apple wagons," Applejack offered as she turned to the door. "How big?"

Rarity considered it a moment before offering a sheepish smile. "Your biggest, this trip may get…a bit expensive."

An hour later, Rarity and Spike approached a waiting Applejack and Winona. Of course, Rarity sported a fashionable sunhat as well as a scarf. Spike just followed his not-so-secret crush as he lugged his little wagon behind him. Applejack, on the other hoof, was hitched up to three enormous apple carts. "'Bout time y'all got here! If'n Ah could find the gems on my own, Winona and Ah'd already be out there diggin'm up!"

"You know a lady absolutely _has_ to look her best," Rarity asserted as she struck a pose to show off her accessories.

"Yeah? For who?" Applejack queried. "Ain't gonna be anypony out there to see yah."

Rarity just sighed as she led the way. "You just don't understand at all, do you?"

"Can't say that Ah do."

A short walk later and Rarity was using her magic to reveal gemstones hidden in the barren hills outside Ponyville. Spike worked with Winona to unearth the gems and load them into Spike's wagon. Using a bit of down home ingenuity, Applejack lashed Spike's wagon to the last of her apple carts with a bit of rope. Even though they'd been at it for a while, only twice did Rarity stop using her gem finding spell to levitate a full wagon's worth of gems into one of the large apple wagons. It didn't even fill the first apple wagon a quarter of the way.

"Does gem huntin' usually take this long?" Applejack asked.

Rarity rolled her eyes at the notion. "It's not like they grow on trees, darling. Though, admittedly, it usually doesn't take quite this long at all. Just one little wagon full is enough to supply me for weeks unless I have some outrageous order to fill.

Applejack sighed as she looked to the seemingly empty carts behind her. "Yah really think yah'll need this much?"

"I just hope that it will be enough," Rarity replied as she continued to mark gem locations. "It's not just for the crystalline cloth. I intend to grab whatever fabrics I don't have on hoof at the boutique. Twilight Sparkle's magic seems to have interesting effects on different fabrics. I'm hoping the crystalline cloth will be perfect, but just in case I'm going to make a wing out of everything I can imagine."

The earth pony nodded in response. "Ah reckon that's a sound idea. A great one, actually.

"I'm planning on going shopping in Canterlot first to see their fabrics and to purchase new sewing equipment," the pearly unicorn voiced her plans. "I will need special ones just to work the crystalline cloth. Then it's off to the Crystal Empire to get the crystalline cloth and see if they have any other unique fabrics there. Oh! I wonder if the other girls would want to accompany me there. The Crystal Empire is just so gorgeous!"

"Yer really goin' all out for Dash, ain't yah?"

"Rainbow Dash would do no less for me," Rarity dismissed. "She did no less…" she added as a somber afterthought.

"Yeah," Applejack muttered. "Let's, uh—" she started before she was cut off by a choking dust eliciting a series of coughs. "Where'd this dang blasted wind come from!?" Applejack complained as she swiped at the dust with her Stetson. Looking through the dusty wind, she found Rarity staring off into the distance with a shocked expression. Following Rarity's gaze, she found a towering, swirling wind. "It's a twister!"

Unhitching herself, Applejack bucked the heavy wagons over onto their sides. "This'll be the best protection we got! Get in!" she ordered. Spike and Winona eagerly hid inside the overturned carts, but Rarity hesitated as she looked to the dirty, dusty shelter.

"You can't possibly expect me to—wah!" Not having time for Rarity's daintiness, Applejack shoved the fashionista inside before turning the train of carts over one more time, sealing out the dust and wind as well as all the light. With a gentle sound, a blue light illuminated the overturned cart. "You didn't need to be so rough!" Rarity glared at Applejack.

Applejack rolled her eyes in turn. Knocking on the side of the cart, she called out, "You two all right over there!?"

"We're okay!" Spike voice replied accompanied by a bark. "Waah! Not okay! Not okay!"

Suddenly, the cart lifted straight up. Instead of a massive whirlwind, a large beast stood there with the cart in its claw. The enormous devil-looking beast seemed to be made entirely of wind and dust. Its arms, legs, horns, torso…all of it seemed to be composed of spinning wind and dust. The only things not made of the whirling sands were two, enormous, glowing and red eyes that pierced the obfuscating dust. It dropped the carts as it roared angrily.

Applejack quickly stood in front of the cowering Rarity as Spike and Winona also sought shelter behind the hardy earth pony. "Ah don't know what yah are or what yah want, but Ah ain't about to let yah hurt nopony!" Spying a few gems that had spilled out, she tossed them into the air before whipping around bucking them at the beast. All of them were just swallowed up by whirling dust, not phasing the beast in the least.

"What is this horrid creature?" Rarity asked as the winds coming from the monster blew her sunhat and scarf away.

"It-it looks like a dust devil!" Spike replied.

"What's that? How do we fight it?" Applejack demanded.

Spike shook his head. "I don't know! You'd have to ask Twilight!"

The enormous, swirling devil turned back to the apple cart train and again lifted it with a single arm. This time, it set the train down on its wheels. Roaring, it pointed to the frightened group, to the cart, then finally towards Ponyville as it roared a warning again.

"I-I think it wants us to leave," Spike guessed.

Applejack nodded. "That's the vibe Ah'm gettin', too."

"Well, too bad!" Rarity defied as she stood tall surprising Applejack and Spike.

The dust devil angrily roared at Rarity as it brought its enormous face near to Rarity's. Even though its glowing eye was bigger than Rarity, the unicorn didn't back down. She stayed tall as she stared down the monster. "Look here, you big, dust…thing. You might want us out of your mane and, ugh…we would _love_ to get you out of ours," she grimaced as she ran a hoof through her dirty, frazzled mane. "Fact is: we can't. We need to collect these gems so that we can help our friend! We won't abandon her and we certainly won't be bullied by the likes of you!"

Roaring again, the dust devil rose to full stature once again. It looked over to the cart and the scattered gems that were rapidly being buried by the dusty wind. Giving out a grunt of frustration, it began to spin its entire body. In a matter of seconds it was again a towering funnel of wind, though its eyes still glowed through. They angrily flashed at Rarity before the twister shot away from the group. It approached a nearby, towering cliffside before the stirred dust obscured everypony's vision completely. After several moments the red, piercing eyes reappeared in front of the group. The dust slowly settled enough to reveal the dust devil again in its anthropomorphic form. Once more it pointed a wispy claw at the train of carts before stepping aside and pointing behind itself.

"Oh my goodness!" Rarity gasped. There in the cliff were countless, enormous gemstones. The dust devil had eroded the solid rock away to reveal them.

The dust devil motioned to the cliff and the cart again before pointing back to Ponyville. The message was clear: take the gems and leave. To drive the point home, it roared again at the ponies.

"Thank you, mister dust devil," Rarity smiled at the monster as Applejack pulled the cart over to the cliffside. "We will go as soon as we gather them up." The dust devil nodded slowly and subtly in turn.

After positioning the carts, Applejack turned her flank to the cliffside. "Here goes somethin'!" she shouted as she apple-bucked the solid stone cliff. The gems loosened under the mighty blow and fell from the cliff into the wagons. Those that missed the wagon were quickly gathered up by Spike and Winona as Applejack moved the carts down alongside the cliff to hit the next spot. Repeating the process just a few times and the carts were overflowing with gems that not only made Spike drool, but made Rarity's eyes dazzle. A few of the gemstones were nothing short of magnificent—some even as large as Spike.

A growling noise brought the quartet's attention back to the dust devil as it motioned again towards Ponyville. "Thank you, for letting us gather these," Rarity appreciated as they started walking back towards home. The beast made a rumbling sound in return, happy that the intruders were leaving.

Of course, the entire trip back to Ponyville Rarity tried to primp her mane back to its usual glory. She just couldn't get much done at all with the dust and dirt gumming up her follicles. "Applejack, I absolutely must go back to my boutique and fix this…disaster," she fretted with her mane.

"Ah think we could all use a good, long bath," Applejack agreed.

"Yes, well…after I finish cleaning up I think I shall go to the train station to get tickets," Rarity stated. "Would you care to accompany me to Canterlot and the Crystal Empire?

Applejack raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Me? Ah wouldn't mind, Ah suppose. But yah know that dress shops and all that aren't exactly my idea of a good time."

"We could visit whatever shops you would like to peruse as well," Rarity offered.

"That's mighty kind'a yah," Applejack smiled. "Ah suppose Big Mac could pick up the slack for a day or two—especially if it gives me the opportunity to sell some apples in Canterlot and the Crystal Empire.

"Um…well, actually," the unicorn fumbled. "I was hoping you could continue to carry that," she motioned to the carts full of gems. "It looks rather heavy."

Applejack just sighed as she rolled her eyes.

* * *

Author's Notes: Not all monsters are evil or incinerate things on contact. Some of them just want to be left alone. Of course, being stubborn and standing up for yourself and your friends never hurts, either.

Obviously this won't be the only chapter to star the two mismatched ponies, but the next won't be until after the crisis in the Everfree is resolved.


	17. Mission Accomplished

Wings of Friendship

* * *

Chapter 17  
Mission Accomplished

* * *

"Thank you so much, darling," Rarity politely accepted the four tickets from the pony at the train station.

"Any time, Miss Rarity. Don't forget to be here tomorrow morning!"

After parting from the train station Rarity tucked the tickets away as she readjusted her scarf. Everything was coming along splendidly. Twilight was getting the reverse mold. With that she could make flawless wings. And, thanks to Applejack, she had more than enough gems to go get the crystalline cloth and dozens of other fabrics. Nothing was going to stop them from fixing Rainbow Dash's wing!

* * *

"We're doomed!" Fluttershy openly weeped barely visible in the feeble light provided by Twilight's horn. The alicorn had Fluttershy on her right and Pinkie on her left in the darkened, sealed cavern of the mirror pond. They were huddled against one of the cavern walls along with the molds. The most stable part of the cavern.

"It...I know things look bleak, but I do know a spell that should shield us in case of collapse," Twilight ran a hoof through Fluttershy's mane.

"That doesn't help us get out of here!" Pinkie shouted from across the cavern as she uselessly scratched at the collapsed tunnel with a hoof. "We need to start digging!"

"Pinkie! I can't protect you unless you are next to me!" Twilight admonished. "Besides, that tunnel completely collapsed. It would take you just as long to dig out no matter where you decided to start." Twilight sighed as she glanced at the terrified pony in her lap. "Actually, don't dig at all! You might just _cause_ a collapse."

Pinkie slunk back over to Twilight before sitting down and pouting. "Then what are we supposed to do! We have to get out of here! Everypony is waiting for us!"

"That's what I'm counting on," Twilight revealed. "They might come looking for us. I just hope that they realize how dangerous those pyreflies are."

"Tw-Twilight I-I have to tell you s-something. In case...we-I don't get out," Fluttershy cringed away from Twilight's comforting hooves.

Twilight looked questioningly to the shaking mare. "Fluttershy...we're getting out of here," she lied. "Everything and everypony is going to be okay."

Fluttershy shook her head a bit. "Rainbow Dash has been lying to us!" she looked up as tears trailed down her cheeks. "M-my friend...my animal friend. He overheard the Wonderbolts talking to-to Rainbow Dash."

Twilight frowned a bit. "F-Fluttershy...you shouldn't..." She had expected better than Fluttershy than to eavesdrop. Still, in spite of herself she couldn't help but to be curious. Rainbow Dash was lying? About what?

"I know! But..." Fluttershy turned her head away. "I want to..." she trailed off as her own words caused to wonder. She did not like the question her own words spurred. _What do I want? To help Rainbow Dash, or just...revenge?_ Fluttershy hung her head as she clenched her jaw and grimaced. "I-I'm sorry! Never mind!" she choked out as she started bawling.

Twilight scooted over a bit as she gently stroked Fluttershy's mane. "Shhh, it's okay, Fluttershy," she cooed. "It's okay."

"No," Fluttershy shook her head. "It's not."

* * *

"Rarity!" Rainbow Dash shouted as Applejack wheeled her over.

"Applejack, Rainbow Dash," Rarity greeted in a dignified manner. "What brings you two here? Does Twilight have my mold ready?"

Rainbow Dash shook her head as Applejack stepped around the wheelchair wearing a worriful expression. "Twilight, Pinkie, and Fluttershy never came back from the Everfree Forest!" Applejack stomped a hoof. "They left first thing this mornin'! They should've been back hours ago!"

"Oh! Oh dear," Rarity raised a hoof to her mouth. "What should we do?"

"We have to go find them, what else?" Rainbow asserted.

Rarity skeptically looked at Rainbow Dash, "Applejack and I—"

"I'm going!" Dash cut Rarity off. "They went to the Everfree Forest for _me_. I'm going."

Rarity sighed. "All right," she nodded. "They went to the magic mirror pond, correct?"

Applejack nodded before going back to Dash's wheelchair. "Yeah, but everypony that knows where to find it is missing!" she fretted as she started wheeling Rainbow Dash. "Ah don't know where to start other than the Everfree."

"Wait, what about your brother?" Rarity asked as she followed along.

"Big Mac?" Applejack raised an eyebrow.

Rarity nodded in turn. "Didn't Big Macintosh help Twilight to seal off the mirror pond to prevent another...incident?"

The wheelchair stopped moving as Applejack took a moment to facehoof. "Ah'm such a featherbrain! Yeah! Big Mac'll know where to go! Let's get to the farm!"

After recruiting Big Macintosh for the search and rescue mission, the group headed to the Everfree Forest. At first, everything seemed normal. Then, after only a couple of minutes of hiking, the thick brush opened into a barren plain. The ground beneath their hooves was black and grey. A huge swath dozens of yards wide had been burned to the earth, leaving a winding trail of ashes while leaving the forest itself spared.

"Oh! Look at what all of this soot is doing to my hooves!" Rarity whined as she examined a marred hoof. "And my coat! I just took a bath!"

"Rarity, now ain't the time!" Applejack scolded as she ran out into the middle of the carnage. She looked around frantically. "They were out here, maybe when this fire happened! Big Mac, where's the...the thing!"

The red stallion shook his head as he chewed on the piece of grass in his mouth. "It's all different now."

"You don't know where to go?"

Big Mac shook his head. "Nope."

Rainbow Dash grunted as she let herself out of the wheelchair. "We have to find them!" she asserted as she pushed Rarity into the wheelchair to keep her hooves clear of the staining ashes. "Happy now?"

"Rainbow Dash, I cannot possibly—"

"No time!" Dash denied as she limped out. "We have to find them! Ideas?"

Rarity raised a hoof to her chin a moment before an idea struck her. "Oh! Do you think they wore any gems out here?" She willed her horn to life as she glanced around. "Always accessorize," she asserted as she adjusted her scarf with a hoof, leaving a black mark from the ashes. "There aren't many gems out here in the Everfree Forest. If they did wear any I might be able to find them!"

"Okay, good idea," Applejack announced before running around the wheelchair to push Rarity. Just before she grabbed the handles, the wheelchair began rolling. Rarity's horn seemed to be pulling the unicorn—wheelchair and all—towards some unseen gemstone. "After that pony!" Applejack pointed a hoof.

Applejack and Big Mac started to run after the speeding wheelchair, but Big Mac hesitated as he took note of Rainbow Dash struggling to hobble along. "Got yah!" The big stallion grabbed Rainbow Dash and threw the small pegasus over his large back before running after his little sister.

After a short, speedy trip along the charred ground, Rarity came to a stop. The ground beneath her glowed in response to her spell. It was big. It was deep. It...wasn't their friends.

"Rarity!" Applejack finally caught up. "What'd yah find!?"

"It's a _huge_ gemstone!" she pointed to the ground under her. "It can't be the girls, though. Too deep to collect, too." Rarity sighed as she leaned around and looked herself over. The ashes stirred up by the stunt still managed to permeate her pristine coat turning it a light shade of grey. "I'm sorry, I don't think I will be able to find them this way."

"That's all right, sugarcube," Applejack patted Rarity on the shoulder, leaving a jet-black hoofprint there. "It was worth a try."

Of course Rarity grimaced as she tried to wipe it off. Unfortunately her hooves weren't any cleaner and all she did was leave a black streak on her nice, white coat. She angrily sighed as she made a mental note to not touch _anything_ until after she had another bath.

Finally, Big Macintosh caught up with Rainbow Dash still strewn across his back. Before either of them had a chance to ask about what was going on, a low rumbling echoed from beneath. The ground began to shake. Then, it cracked right beneath Big Mac's hooves! Reacting quickly, he bucked Rainbow Dash off of himself. The action spared Dash, but his legs came back down with enough force to send his haunches into the sinking rock.

The ground opened up around Big Mac's haunches and he began to slip into the chasm. Rainbow Dash was the first one to reach him. Lying flat on her belly, she extended her good hoof to grab one of Big Mac's. A split second later, Applejack grabbed his other enormous hoof with her two front hooves and pulled with all her might.

"Hold on, Big Mac! Ah got yah!" Applejack assured even as the bulky stallion started slipping.

Rarity wasn't about to sit by and do nothing. She quickly readjusted her scarf before approaching the dangerous, crumbling ground. "Grab on!" she tossed the end of her scarf near Big Mac's mouth. As he bit down, Rarity turned around and tried her best to pull him out as she struggled to take even a single step.

Little by little, they started to pull Big Mac free. Then, suddenly, a new pressure came from behind, pushing Big Mac up. All at once they fell over as he burst away from the collapsed ground. As he did, a yellow pegasus tumbled out with him.

"Fluttershy!?" most of the group chimed in unison.

"Girls!" Fluttershy greeted in turn. "I'm soooo glad to see you!"

"Hey! Don't forget about us!" a familiar voice echoed out of the hole Big Mac nearly fell into. "Get us out of here!"

Fluttershy stuck her head down the hole as the rest of the group stayed clear of the perilously unstable hole. After all, they couldn't fly if it collapsed. "I-I'll come get you," Fluttershy hesitantly floated back into the cavern. She came back out several seconds later with Pinkie Pie in her hooves.

"Hey everypony!" Pinkie smiled and waved, nearly causing Fluttershy to drop her. Clumbsily, Fluttershy set her down well clear of the unstable ground. "Thanks for the lift! It's great to be out in the sunshine again! And look! No more pyreflies! It's a happy ending for everypony!"

By the time Pinkie had finished her enthusiastic rant, Fluttershy was setting Twilight onto her hooves. "Thanks Fluttershy," Twilight smiled as she stretched out her wings. "I'm starting to think that maybe it would be a good idea to put a _little_ more effort into learning how to work these."

"Twilight! What the hay happened here?" Applejack asked as Fluttershy went to retrieve the molds.

"It's a long story—"

"No it's not!" Pinkie interrupted Twilight. "We came out to get a...oh wait, you know that part already! Silly me," she smiled and stuck her tongue out a bit as she rapped her head with a hoof. "Anyway, we got here and there were _pyreflies!_ They nearly burned us alive but I spotted the entrance to the mirror pond and Twilight removed the rock—not Rocky—different rock. Then we all jumped in and Twilight put up a barrier to keep the pyreflies out and—"

"Wait, wait," Rarity held up a hoof to silence Pinkie. "What's this 'pyrefly'?"

Pinkie grinned as she began to recite the rhyme,

"Beware of the swarms of blinking red,  
In the forest the pyreflies bring forth dread!  
A single touch brings a fiery pillar  
To bring their nest made of glowing cinder."

Twilight sighed as she shook her head. "If you thought parasprites were cute and scary...pyreflies take it to a whole new level," she explained as Fluttershy brought out the saddlebags and molds. "Apparently whatever they touch bursts into flames and is reduced to cinders. I'm glad they're gone."

The group looked around at the destruction. "This was caused by...bugs?" Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow.

"Scary, huh!?" Pinkie excitedly exclaimed. "So after we escaped, the pyreflies got in the tunnel. They started melting the rocks and then the tunnel collapsed and the ceiling and—" Suddenly, another rumbling echoed out as deep cracks extended out from the hole. Then, the earth caved in, belching a plume of dust up as the cavern completely collapsed. "—well, something like that!"

"I suppose that's the last we'll see of the mirror pond," Twilight surmised as everypony backed away from the cratered ground.

"Well, we got the molds, we didn't spontaneously combust, and we didn't die a horrible crushing death!" Pinkie happily bounced around. "Mission accomplished!"


	18. The Crystalline Cloth pt 1

Wings of Friendship

* * *

Chapter 18  
The Crystalline Cloth pt. 1

* * *

"Hoo-ee, talk about fancy," Applejack marveled the shiny trinkets hidden away in glass cases. "What could a pony even use most'a this stuff for."

"I'm afraid you must be lost," a unicorn mare glared at Applejack from behind a counter. "This store is for the most exclusive and well-connected of ponies. Not some _commoner_ like you."

Applejack was fully prepared to jump across the counter, but was stopped by a pearly leg. "Later, this shop is the only one that sells it," she whispered into Applejack's ear as she coaxed her to step back. "You must forgive my companion," Rarity asserted as she pointed at the storefront window. Parked just outside was the trio of carts overflowing with gems. "You simply cannot expect me to pull something so heavy."

After scrutinizing Rarity a moment the unicorn scoffed. "Just see to it that she keeps her filthy hooves away from our pristine counters."

Applejack growled at her, but a pointed look from Rarity kept her soothed enough not to leap across the counter and assault the snobby unicorn. "Your shop carries a diamond-tipped sewing kit, correct?" she asked as sweetly as she could with a saccharin smile.

The employee gave a haughty, faux laugh. "A dressmaker with fine taste, I see," she slid down the glass counter before retrieving a gilded, gem-encrusted box and placed it atop the glass. Opening it revealed needles, two pairs of scissors, spools of thread, and even a measuring tape. They were all made of gold with brilliantly cut diamonds forming the needle points and scissor blades. The measure and thread seemed to be strung from gold thread.

Rarity adorned a loupe as she closely scrutinized the tools. The metal spools, scissors, and needles weren't solid gold. Merely gold-plated iron or steel. Had she intended to use the set as a decoration she would have thrown that box in that rude pony's face, but she needed to use them as tools. Iron would do better than gold for that purpose. More important were the blades and points. They were indeed genuine diamond. Cloudy and flawed, but diamonds nonetheless. Taking a pair of scissors in her aura, she tried snipping them to see how well the diamond blades meshed. In short, they didn't. The motion was not at all smooth, and they seemed to have a permanent hitch before they could fully close.

This was the only set of diamond-tipped sewing equipment, and it was nothing short of awful. How could she possibly expect to cut strings made of emeralds, rubies, and sapphires with this? She needed precision-crafted diamond for the task. Nothing else would do. This kit was just as pretentious as the ponies peddling it.

"This will not do at all," Rarity disdainfully replaced the scissors.

The unicorn frowned as she replaced the gilded box. "Surely you do not recognize quality when you see it," she scoffed. "I should have expected as much from a pony that keeps such...uncouth company."

That was the final straw. No, the final straw was the first time this dreadful unicorn opened her maw. She simply endured because she thought she needed something from this store. But that gaudy kit wasn't worth the effort. Hay, a dazzling kit full of flawless gems that worked perfectly probably wasn't. Rarity regretted that it took her this long to figure that out. Sending an apologetic glance to Applejack, she turned back to the unicorn with a scowl.

"Now see here, you prudish shrew," Rarity put her hooves on the counter so she could lean up near the unicorn's face. "Applejack here,"—she pointed a hoof—"is a wonderful pony. Honest, hardworking, and kind. Three things I seriously doubt you will ever have the luxury of knowing. From where I'm standing the only uncouth one here is you!" She hopped down with a "Hmph!" as turned to leave with Applejack, only to stop cold as her mouth fell open in shock.

"I dare say, that was certainly...something," Fancy Pants commented with an amused smile.

"O-oh dear," Rarity blushed. "You heard that, did you?"

Fancy nodded a bit. "Indeed."

"Monsieur Fancy Pants!" the unicorn behind the counter eagerly greeted. "I'm dreadfully sorry about that...unfortunate scene. Rest assured in the future we will see to it that only the proper clientele are allowed in."

"Why are you apologizing to me?" Fancy asked rhetorically as he motioned to the flabbergasted Rarity and curious Applejack. "These fine ladies are the ones you were so rude to." The attendant just stared slack-jawed at Fancy Pants as he turned to the other two. "An acquaintance mentioned seeing you in town, Rarity. I thought it would be such a delight to see you again, though I must say: remind me often to never draw your ire."

Rarity's cheeks radiated embarrassment. "I simply cannot believe you witnessed that!"

"I say, it's a pleasure seeing you again as well, Applejack," he leaned over to look at the pony that had so amusingly misinterpreted the purpose of a garden party.

"It's nice to see a friendly face 'round here," Applejack tipped her hat.

"Tell me, how fares the Princess?" Fancy asked as he turned back to Rarity. "It must be so fascinating to be such close friends with a Princess."

Rarity rose a hoof to her lips to try and stifle a giggle as the trio left the shop leaving behind the completely stunned staff. "You know, Twilight Sparkle is terribly modest. She is not quite comfortable being called a Princess."

"You don't say," Fancy replied as they paused.

"Darn tootin'," Applejack chimed in as she hitched herself to the carts. "She prefers to be treated just the same way she used'ta be. It's a mighty fine attitude if'n yah ask me."

"How fascinating."

Rarity cleared her throat a bit. "I hate to be so forward, but we are suddenly in quite the tight spot. You see I need a set of diamond-tipped sewing equipment. This was the only shop we could find that had one, but it was...subpar."

"Diamond-tipped?" He raised an eyebrow before recognition crossed his face. "Oh, don't tell me. A fine dressmaker such as yourself; you must be hoping to make something of that new fabric. The crystalline cloth."

Rarity gave him a strange look. "You should know. You're the one that went on and on about it."

"Word travels that quickly does it?" Fancy asked in turn. "I should warn you that Canterlot's finest dressmakers have all tried and failed to properly work that cloth. I'm not certain you can even find it in Canterlot anymore."

"I know," Rarity quizzically gazed at Fancy. "The pony who makes it lives in the Crystal Empire now. You said so."

"Did I?" Fancy raised a hoof to his chin.

"What I need right now are the tools," Rarity waved a hoof to waft away the distracted conversation. "If everypony tried to work the cloth, there should be some somewhere, right?"

"I say, I don't quite know about that, but I can recommend a jewelsmith," he offered as he pointed a hoof.

It was a short, yet eventful trip to the jeweler's. Fancy Pant's entourage found him and they pulled him away, leaving the two mares to their task. Rarity was a bit upset about it, but Applejack was glad to be free from the posh unicorns. Rarity was more than prudish enough for her taste.

"Is this the place?" Applejack raised an eyebrow. The building in front of her didn't look anything like what she imagined. Without her noticing, Rarity had led her away from the opulent main strip and into a shoddy alley. The shop in question had a simple, hoof-painted sign that simply read: "Gems" above an entryway cordoned off from the outside by not a door, but a velveteen curtain.

"This is it," Rarity confirmed as she glanced around. She'd heard of the slums tucked away into the city, but she'd never actually visited them. "Perhaps you should stand near the wagons," she suggested as she pulled the curtain aside.

"Welcome!" a cheery voice greeted as soon as Rarity walked inside. It came from a rusty red unicorn stallion standing behind a wooden counter. He never looked up from the sapphire under his loupe. In stark contrast to the aging wooden shop, there were shining, shimmering gemstones everywhere. On countertops and shelves as well as in bins and barrels. "How can I help you?"

Rarity struggled pull her gaze away from the gems. "I, um...I need a custom job."

"You'll have to be a bit more specific than that miss..." he looked up.

"Rarity," she spoke her own name as she primped her mane. "I must say, this is not at all what I expected."

The red unicorn chuckled as he set the sapphire aside. "Everypony always tells me to sell this old place and get a shining, glamorous shop. But I grew up playing on these floors when my parents and my grandparents before them ran the family business. I wouldn't trade this rough, faded wood for all the bits in Canterlot." Looking up from his memories, he flashed Rarity a smile. "Now, what can I do for you, Miss Rarity?"

"I need sewing equipment fitted with diamonds," she explained. "Scissors, needles, pins... That sort of thing."

Jotting down Rarity's words onto a notepad he chuckled a bit to himself. "I got a few orders like these a while back. A bunch of dressmakers trying to work cloth made of gemstones. You know that it's impossible, right?"

"Impossible? I should say not," Rarity refuted.

"I've seen that cloth," he claimed as he finished scribbling on the notepad as he looked up at Rarity. "It has _diamond_ in it. It would be like trying to cut a pair of scissors with another pair of scissors. It simply doesn't work."

Rarity slowly nodded as she contemplated his words. "I-I would still like to try it."

"I can have you a set in...three to four weeks," he claimed as he looked to a calendar behind him.

"No," Rarity shook her head. "That simply won't do. Is there any way I can convince you to expedite the order?"

A small smile touched his lips. "For a fee. Just how quickly do you need it?"

"Can you get it done in a day or two?"

He sighed as he shook his head. "Three to four days," he frowned. "And that will run you..." He trailed off as he worked an abacus, "...6200 bits."

"Th-that's outrageous!"

"Most of it is for the rush order. I would have to push back several important clients to focus on your work."

Rarity sighed. "I didn't bring many bits with me, but I do have quite a few gems. I can provide the needed diamonds. Would it be possible to pay for the entire order with gemstones?"

He raised an eyebrow at the tiny saddlebags on Rarity's sides. "I doubt you brought enough, but we could discuss a time frame based on what you can offer."

Rarity rolled her eyes. This stallion may have been charming, but there was no doubt he was a businesspony at heart. "One moment," she said as she headed out of the shop.

"Yah know Ah could hear every word," Applejack greeted Rarity in a low enough voice that the shopkeeper wouldn't hear. "He said it wouldn't work."

"He said diamonds cannot cut diamonds," Rarity qualified as she she used her magic to sift diamonds from the rest of the gems. "He is right about that. Diamonds are the hardest gemstone. It's why I have to use them to cut the rest. I just have to convince the weaver to make the cloth sans diamond."

Applejack rolled her eyes as Rarity trotted back into the shop. She probably should have been more supportive of Rarity, but she'd had more than enough of Canterlot already. She couldn't wait to get to the Crystal Empire.

"How is _this_ for an offer?" Rarity emphasized as she ushered in the dozens of diamonds into the shop. She smiled triumphantly as the red unicorn's jaw dropped and his loupe fell onto the counter in front of him. "Darling, I may be a fashion designer, but my specialty is _gemstones!_"

"Deal!"

By the time the duo got on the train headed for the Crystal Empire, the sun was already being swallowed by the horizon. In the end Rarity had used up an entire wagon-full of gems. In their place was a wagon full to the brim with bolts of various fabrics as well as dozens upon dozens of bundles of feathers.

"Sure am glad we're finished with that mess," Applejack sighed as she and Rarity plodded towards the sleeper car.

"Yes..." Rarity muttered. It might've been a splendid day for Rarity, but the few shops that even gave Applejack a chance to speak refused to even consider buying from Sweet Apple Acres. "I'm certain you will have much more luck in the Crystal Empire."

"Why do Canterlot unicorns have to be so...snooty?" Applejack flopped into her bed, setting her hat aside.

Rarity sighed. "If you want to be taken seriously in Canterlot you must look and speak just so. It's just the way that it is."

"It ain't right," Applejack groused as she rolled over to stare at at the wall.

"No, I suppose not," Rarity gingerly snuggled into her bunk. "Applejack?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you...for coming with me, I mean."

"Yeah," Applejack replied again. Unseen by Rarity, a ghost of a smile touched Applejack's lips.

* * *

Author's Notes: Since the chapter had already run this far I decided to break it up into multiple chapters. There will be one, maybe two more "parts" for this subplot. As far as this trip to get the cloth goes, Im not at all happy with this chapter. It's just so...uneventful. It's almost as if the story could do without this part altogether.


End file.
